


Mirror, Mirror

by Kaiyou



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: All chars aged up other than Natsu and Shouyou, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, Bakeneko!Kenma, Bakeneko!Kuroo, Daishou and Kuguri are mentioned too, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Folklore, Grief, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Kuroo and Kenma are shapeshifters btw, M/M, Past minor character death, Reverse haunting, Supernatural - Freeform, Supernatural violence, Suspense, Tragedy, a few OCs as needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-11 18:08:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7902586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaiyou/pseuds/Kaiyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenma and Kuroo are bakeneko living happily in their master's old home, even though Nekomata's sudden disappearance years ago still remains unsolved. However, their peace and tranquility is interrupted by a new family moving into the house. A pair of supernatural detectives are called in to deal with the situation because of the cats’ efforts to drive the new family out of the house, but they all soon realize they’re dealing with something much more dangerous than merely each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Uninvited Guests

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Big Bang. This is (ironically enough) a mirror fic of [risquetendencies](http://archiveofourown.org/users/risquetendencies/pseuds/risquetendencies) "[False Reflection](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7791688/chapters/17775595)" (which is written from Akaashi and Bokuto's POV), and we developed the plot/events in tandem. The art for the story was done by the incredibly talented [Celestadira](http://celestsadira.tumblr.com/) and I've been fortunate enough to work with some other incredible people along the way as well.
> 
> (Ah, for those interested - the smut in this is minimal, just a couple scenes. I'll mark those chapters with an E in the title)

In the back of his mind, Kuroo knew this was probably a dream. The thought flickered into his awareness and was gone, because there were much more important things in front of him. It was dark. He was in the attic. Kenma was near him, safe and warm. Something was calling Kuroo downstairs.

The need coiled in his gut, made him move away from the comfort of his bed. He was through the attic door in a thought, climbing down the steps, almost slipping through them in his hurry. Then he was on the ground floor, curling himself out of the stairwell and listening to the sound that had drawn him down.

Nekomata’s voice.

His master’s voice.

The hallway was before him. It was long, straight, shades of grey, countless doorways leading off to rooms on either side. Nekomata was in one of them. Nekomata was calling out. He didn’t know, couldn’t make out what Nekomata was saying. If he was closer -

He moved.

Nekomata was behind this door, he knew it.

Pushing forward he phased through, looking around expectantly. Nekomata’s favorite armchair was empty. He wasn’t sitting at the table. He wasn’t standing by the fire. Light was flickering from inside the mirror, reflecting unlit candles. The doorway on the far side of the room caught his eye and he listened.

Nekomata was that way, he was sure of it.

He moved again.

The room next was empty as well.

Kuroo could still hear Nekomata talking, the sound clearer. He was talking to someone. The language, Kuroo didn’t know the language, but he knew Nekomata’s voice.

Nekomata needed him.

He moved forward again, ignoring furniture as he traversed the space from room to room. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing but space. Nothing but emptiness. Nothing but rooms filled with mirrors reflecting things that weren’t there.

Nekomata was growing more frantic. Kuroo ran faster. His master needed him. His master was angry - no, afraid, but Nekomata was never afraid - his master was -

Silent.

Kuroo was falling, and all the lights were swallowed up in the darkness.

He woke up.

For a moment, Kuroo felt trapped by the blankets that cocooned him. He blinked his eyes, trying to realign his mind to his current reality. A nagging sense of guilt and loss coiled low in his gut, making him paw his way out of the blankets and look over to see if he could find Kenma. Looking towards the western window of the attic he frowned, heart clenching. That was Kenma’s favorite afternoon spot. His sunny spot. Normally he was there, though he might be out on the town. Kuroo frowned, then heard a noise from the other end of the room.

What he saw when he looked over made him relax. There was Kenma, curled up on the windowseat. For some reason he was staring out at the front yard. He didn’t look happy, but then again, Kenma was often annoyed by something or other.

That was normal.

And he was here.

Kuroo lay back on his bed, stretching and shifting out from under the blankets, letting his black paws kneed into the fabric. He really hated that dream. Memory, dream, nightmare, whatever. Kenma said it wasn’t a memory, because Kuroo had been sleeping the night Nekomata disappeared. They’d both woken up the next day wondering where he’d gone. That day, Kuroo remembered with clarity. The night before -

Maybe Kenma was right. Maybe it was just a dream.

Frowning to himself Kuroo rolled out of bed and stalked over to the window seat. He studied Kenma a moment. He was in his normal form, halfway between human and cat, and of course wearing clothes. Kenma always wore clothes when he was like this.

Well, almost always.

The swish of the Kenma’s tail was distracting. Kuroo knew it meant Kenma was agitated, but as a cat, all he wanted to do was pounce.

Kuroo weighed his desire against the knowledge that Kenma wouldn’t appreciate such actions. Reluctantly he turned his attention away from the tail, eyeing instead the way Kenma was sitting as he leaned against the window. He had a lap. By the way his ears twitched back, Kuroo also knew Kenma was aware of his presence, so what he was planning to do next wouldn’t be a complete surprise.

He jumped.

Kenma shifted, lifting an arm without taking the eye of the scene in front of him. It gave Kuroo space to crawl into his lap, curling up and snuggling close. Kenma reached down and petted him absently before speaking.

“We have a problem.”

Closing his eyes, Kuroo waited for him to continue.

“There’s a woman outside, with a moving van.”

Kuroo turned over on his back, lazily peering up at Kenma. “Maybe it’s for the house down the road?”

“No, she’s coming our way - ah, and she has -”

“What?” Kuroo asked, deciding to see for himself. He turned, looking out the window.

The woman was climbing down from the truck, followed by two smaller creatures with bright orange on their heads. It took Kuroo a moment to realize it was their hair. He wasn’t the one who went out and about, normally - did humans come in that size?

“Are those small things humans?” he asked.

“They’re children,” Kenma said, flicking his ear. “You should know that.”

“Why are they colored like that?”

Kuroo stared down at the two small children as they raced around the yard. He was momentarily distracted from the woman until he heard the click of the key in the lock.

“Maybe they’re just visiting,” Kenma said.

Kuroo glanced up at him, seeing the worry hidden behind his eyes.

Kenma frowned, hand reaching out to pet Kuroo again, pulling him close. “Maybe they won’t stay.”

“Yeah,” Kuroo said.

Internally, his mind was racing. They’d never had to deal with this before. The only human who’d ever lived in the house was Nekomata. A groundskeeper sometimes came by to take care of the outside of the property, but people didn’t come inside.

Nekomata had said that no one else should live in the house. He’d said he’d make sure that Kuroo and Kenma would be taken care of after he was gone. But for a human to live here, he’d said, was dangerous.

He wasn’t supposed to leave as soon as he did, but he had. The house was supposed to remain silent. The house was supposed to remain safe.

Now, there were voices downstairs. People running, hollering, yelling at each other to be quiet. It was wrong. It all felt so very, very wrong.

“What are we going to do, Kuroo?” Kenma asked.

“Something,” Kuroo said. “We’ll think of something. We can figure out how to get them to go away. Other spirits do it all the time, right? In stories?”

Kenma nodded slowly, attention still on the cacophony downstairs.

Wiggling out of Kenma’s arms, Kuroo shifted, pulling Kenma into his lap and stroking his back. “Don’t worry,” Kuroo said. “We’ll figure it out. We’ll get them to go away.”

“Yeah,” Kenma said, leaning against him more readily than usual.

They’d never had to haunt anyone before. Never had to deal with any threat like this before. Home was safe, and happy. Home was Kenma, and reading Nekomata’s books, and playing in the garden in the back.

But now, everything felt off.

Kuroo nuzzled the top of Kenma’s head, thinking. He could fix this. He would fix this. He didn’t want Kenma to be unhappy.

So, he’d just have to figure it out.

~~~~~~~~~

Maybe everything would be fine.

Kenma didn’t really believe that, not in his heart of hearts. He could still remember Nekomata warning them that no other humans should live in the house. The old man had looked straight at him as he said it. He didn’t know why. Kuroo had pressed him once for an explanation, but Nekomata always hesitated, looking at Kenma.

For a while, it had made him think that he was the problem.

Humans didn’t seem to be negatively affected by his presence, though - well, other than occasionally losing a garment or two as Kenma had need. He enjoyed wandering among the laundry lines as a cat, watching the dance of wind and fabric. Sometimes an extra-soft-looking shirt would find its way off of the line and into Kenma’s possession. It wasn’t a big deal. After all, he’d probably cause more of an issue if he walked around naked.

Not that Kuroo would mind.

Which was, perhaps, another reason to make sure he was able to be fully clothed when in human form -

But he was getting distracted.

Kenma dawdled at the top of the stairs, thinking it over.

So he was relatively sure that he wasn’t the problem - or at least, he wasn’t a problem now. Nekomata hadn’t actually said that no humans should ever live in the house, had he? Maybe it had just been time-dependant. Maybe it was only dangerous while Kuroo and Kenma were too young to fully control their powers.

After all, human’s - well. They weren’t great. He still avoided them in human form as much as possible, and tried to keep from drawing much attention as a cat. Some weren’t so bad. There were a few older people in the neighborhood who set food out for him at the shrines in their gardens. A couple even had enough awareness to know what he was by sight, and there was one old lady he liked to visit, but, well. None of them really bothered him.

He did his thing, and they did theirs.

So not all humans were bad. Maybe these would be livable.

Making up his mind he padded downstairs, long tail swishing in the air. The hallway was quiet. He could hear the humans running around in another part of the house. Carefully, he crept into the living room, sniffing at the new scents left behind by hastily-washed bodies bumping into old musty furniture. One smell was light, with hints of apple and bubblegum. He liked apples. There was something different about this scent. Chemical, maybe? He hopped up on the edge of the chair where it was the strongest, rubbing his nose against the velveteen fabric. He licked at it, but the only thing he tased was the dust from years without a thorough deep-cleaning.

Probably shampoo, then.

A gasp behind him made him turn his head, eyes widening at the short redheaded girl in the doorway.

“Kitty!” she yelled.

Kenma panicked, scrambling away as she rushed him. In a desperate bid for safety he dove under the china cabinet, thankful that her arms were too short to reach the far corner he was able to squish himself into. Feet thudded down the hall and burst into the room, a slightly deeper voice arguing with the girl that “there was no kitty, they didn’t have a cat.”

The conversation thankfully dissolved into normal childhood bickering. Kenma pressed as tight as he could away from the edge of the cabinet, fearful that at any moment the older boy would give in to his little sister and look to see if she was actually right.

After a bit he calmed down, logic replacing some of the fear in his mind as the two children continued to argue.

She had seen him. She shouldn’t be able to see him.

She could see him, and had those grubby little hands, grasping things that had flailed around under the edge of the china cabinet as she tried to reach him.

It was terrifying.

He’d hoped it could be different. It all seemed like far more work than he really wanted to put in. But in the end, he knew, Nekomata had probably been right.

The humans had to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kuroo was not prepared for the sight of Kenma rushing up the stairs and practically flying into his arms. Fortunately he was fast enough to toss his book to the side and catch the cat. He let out a soft oof as the weight of Kenma’s body hit his stomach, and immediately started checking him over for injuries, fingers running through the short silky fur. Kenma was trembling. Kuroo was angry.

Feeling a slight change in energy he lifted his hands. Kenma shifted in his lap, fur melting away into pale skin as his limbs twisted and lengthened until the only things that remained of his cat form were the ears on top of his head and a long twitching tail. Kuroo was definitely not used to his best friend transforming on his lap, but any feelings of shock were pushed aside by Kenma’s obvious distress. Humming softly Kuroo hugged him close, hands rubbing up and down his back as his mind raced to try and figure out what had happened.

“You’re ok. Are you ok? What happened? Was it Daishou? I swear, I knew it, I’m going to go over there and rip him a new one, I don’t care if does have those other snakes to back him up,” Kuroo babbled, feeling panic rise up in him when Kenma just held him tighter.

The snake spirit lived with some of his friends in the woods on the other side of the fence by their garden. He and Kuroo were known to have loud arguments over the fish in the koi pond in Nekomata’s yard. Kuroo wouldn’t put anything past him and his crafty manipulations.

Still, he knew it wasn’t Daishou who had upset Kenma. Kuguri would’ve protected Kenma even if Daishou had tried to start something, not that Kenma needed protecting. And really, honestly, even though Daishou was an ass he wouldn’t actually do something to seriously upset Kenma.

Kenma should’ve laughed at him for even making the accusation, but Kenma wasn’t laughing right now.

He wasn’t even really reacting, not even when Kuroo started poking and prodding to make sure Kenma wasn’t injured. Things were rarely ever this bad. Kuroo let out a small whine, hugging Kenma tighter and wishing he knew what to do.

Finally, Kenma sighed, huffing against Kuroo’s neck.

“Are you ok?” Kuroo asked again, relaxing a tiny amount at the nod he felt against his skin.

He leaned back, nuzzling the top of Kenma’s head and watching the sun sink below the horizon. Slowly, ever so slowly, Kenma’s grasp on his back loosened.

Humming a moment, Kuroo asked, “What happened?”

Kenma moved, slowly lifting his face from where he’d been hiding it against Kuroo’s skin. Frowning, he looked to the side and crinkled up his nose. “Children,” he said finally.

“Children?” Kuroo asked, slightly dumbfounded.

“Yes.”

Kuroo frowned, racking his brain to try and understand what had happened. Sure, he knew the humans had to go, but why was Kenma so upset? Were they loud? Did they have some strange food? Maybe they were tearing up the furniture? None of that seemed to explain things, though.

Evidently Kenma saw this on his face because he scowled. “She saw me! The little one. She tried to touch me, Kuroo. Tried to pet me.”

It wasn’t what he expected.

Kuroo bit his lips and tried to look concerned. He reminded himself that Kenma’s panic was nothing to laugh at. Still, now that he knew there had been no lasting damage, the idea of a little human trying to pet Kenma was a little bit funny.

Kenma hit him.

“Hey!” Kuroo said, rubbing his shoulder and pouting. “I didn’t laugh!”

Looking disgusted, Kenma said, “She saw me, Kuroo. When I wasn’t planning to be seen.”

“Oh.”

Kenma huffed and looked to the side, starting to scoot back on Kuroo’s lap.

“Hey, hey,” Kuroo said, rubbing his hips. “I’m sorry. I was just really worried when you came up here and were so upset. I’m just glad it wasn’t something....”

“Something serious?” Kenma said, wiggling out of his grasp and stalking over towards the pile of blankets on the far window-seat.

“Hey, Kenma, Kenma,” said Kuroo, following and watching mournfully as his best friend disappeared beneath the blankets. “Don’t be mad. I know it’s serious, I’m just glad you’re ok.”

He sat down, one hand reaching out to rub Kenma’s shoulder through the layers of fabric.

Well, he’d thought it was his shoulder.

Kenma stuck his head out from under the other end of the blankets and scowled at him. Whoops. At least this time Kuroo was wise enough to look properly guilty instead of laughing at the utter mess Kenma’s hair had become.

Sighing he sat back, pulling a pillow into his lap and opening his arms. Looking disgruntled, Kenma slowly hitched his way back into Kuroo’s lap, sticking his feet out of the bottom of the blankets and twitching his toes in the air.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Kenma said, hands sneaking out from under the blankets and curling around Kuroo’s arms as they pulled him close.

Kuroo nodded, lips lightly brushing against the soft fur on Kenma’s ears. “Maybe it was a fluke? Maybe she’s just because she’s a young human. I’ve read that sometimes the young are more sensitive.”

Tilting his head to the side for a moment, Kenma shrugged. “Maybe,” he acknowledged. “It wasn’t just seeing, though. Her fingers brushed my hair for an instant. I felt it.”

That was serious. Kuroo frowned, fingers shifting to interlock with Kenma’s. Just the thought of Kenma being caught by the human - picked up, held, touched in ways he didn’t like - that bothered the hell out of Kuroo. Kenma didn’t like being picked up by anyone most of the time, especially in cat form. He’d even taken issue with Nekomata doing it, and Nekomata had been good at pets.

The fact that being caught was a possibility was even more disturbing.

Normally humans only saw them if they wanted them to. Nekomata had been the exception, but then again, Kuroo didn’t exactly consider Nekomata human. Kenma went out all the time without being bothered by humans. Sure, sometimes he allowed them to see him, especially once he’d figured out what money was and Kuguri had showed him where he could buy apple pie - but that was by choice. If a human being could see them, touch them, well.

It wasn’t like they were defenseless, but defending themselves wasn’t anything they’d had to do. It was far easier to just fade into the woodwork when a human came around. Even his beef with Daishou was more threat and bluster than anything serious - the snake got under his skin so he returned the favor.

They hadn’t ever actually gotten into a fight.

Frowning, Kuroo nipped at the tip of Kenma’s ear with his lips, pulling back when it flicked and tickled his nose. “We need to get rid of them,” he finally said.

“Agreed.”

The only question was how. Nekomata’s library was extensive, but he didn’t recall a How-To manual on evicting humans from your place of residence. The closest he’d seen were a few ghost stories.

“Maybe we can haunt them? You know, pull pranks and the like. We could go downstairs and do it, they’re probably asleep by now.”

Kenma tilted his head to the side, exposing a neck that distracted Kuroo from the problem at hand. It really needed to be nibbled.

Then he realized that Kenma had been naked in his lap earlier and he hadn’t even noticed.

Granted, it hadn’t exactly been the time to think about Kenma being naked. There had been more important things to focus on, like Kenma having a massive anxiety attack. Still. Kenma. Naked. In his lap. With him naked. Because Kuroo rarely saw the importance of clothes. And now Kenma was naked underneath all these blankets. All Kuroo had to do was -

Kenma shifted, staring up at him a long moment with eyes that seemed to see right through him.

Fighting back the flush that threatened to travel from the tips of his ears to his nose, Kuroo said, “It’s a good idea!”

Kenma just raised an eyebrow.

Swallowing, Kuroo said, “The pranks, I mean. Obviously.”

“Mmmhmm. And not whatever other ideas were running through your head right then?”

Kuroo shrugged, sighing mournfully as Kenma pulled away and cocooned himself back in the blankets.

“I don’t want to go downstairs again tonight,” said Kenma.

He looked so forlorn that Kuroo wanted to do nothing more than snuggle him to sleep. Kuroo knew from long experience that snuggling probably wasn’t an option by this point, however. Kenma was pulling into himself. The world had overwhelmed him, and it was time to recenter. He was already tilting his head to look out the window so that he could watch the moon.

Kuroo sighed, pushing himself up from the window seat. “Fine then, I’ll go myself. Feel better, ok?”

Kenma nodded, ear flicking back to show he’d heard. There was nothing more that Kuroo could do up here. He paced towards the stairs, snagging a pair of shorts just in case one of the little terrors was still awake and could see him. Creeping down the stairs he reviewed his options. He wasn’t really all that experienced with tricks.

Daishou was a trickster, but there was no way Kuroo was asking him for advice. He probably didn’t know anything about haunting, anyways. There was the plant fairy who sometimes tended the plants. Fairies were supposed to be good with tricks, right? But Kuroo was pretty sure that Oikawa had gone off somewhere with his beetle boy, and there was no telling when they’d be back.

No, he’d have to do this himself.

He padded into the kitchen and looked around glumly. Running both hands through his hair he racked his brain for any sort of inspiration. Then his gaze landed on a pair of squat cylinders in the middle of the table.

Kuroo smiled. Yes, that just might work.


	2. In which Kenma discovers his passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you missed it - I added Cel's art for the first chapter :) Go back and look!

“Kenma! Quick! You have to come see!”

Grumbling, Kenma snuggled deeper into the blankets and tried to ignore the rough tongue lapping at his toes. “Don’t wanna.”

“You do,” Kuroo said.

“Don’t.”

“Do.”

“Don’t - ow!”

Kenma sat up and glared at a completely unrepentant Kuroo. He knew from long experience that if he pulled his feet under the covers that Kuroo would probably just chase after them, unless he was quick. Granted, that sometimes led to some rather interesting activities, but that was not what Kenma was in the mood for at this moment.

Kuroo licked his paw unrepentantly, using it to wash his ears. Kenma felt seriously annoyed with the black cat. It was far too early to be up. The sun was barely all the way over the horizon, and Kenma had been up late watching the moon. There was no reason for Kuroo to be acting so annoying.

Sighing loudly Kenma lay back down, determined to go back to bed. He tried to tuck the covers under his feet but Kuroo was too quick, shooting into the space provided and snuggling up against his belly. His bare belly. “Kuro damnit!” Kenma yelled, rolling over and tumbling onto the floor, blankets going everywhere. He ended up on all fours hovering above the black cat, who curled over onto his back, paw gently pressing against Kenma’s chest.

Cute wasn’t going to work this morning, though. Kenma showed this by putting on his most annoyed face, watching Kuroo carefully to make sure he wasn’t intending to transform under him. The appreciative look Kuroo gave him was bad enough. Some things just looked wrong on a cat’s face when he was in human form himself.

Well, almost human.

Kenma sat back on his heels, tail swishing angrily. “What’s so important?” he asked, tugging the blanket into his lap to try and salvage at least a bit of his modesty.

“Cat form first,” Kuroo said, turning back over and padding towards the open vent in the side of the wall. “I want to show you my surprise.”

Kenma considered this. Unfortunately he was awake enough by now that going back to sleep seemed like a slightly distant prospect. Then there was the added detail that Kuroo was trying to get him into cat form, and apparently not for sex.

At least, not right now.

And hopefully not later, if he wanted to remain intact. Some experiments Kenma was not willing to repeat, in any way shape or form. He really didn’t know how normal cats did it.

When Kenma sighed again Kuroo did a little dance, knowing he’d won. Shifting into cat form took only a moment. It was his second-favorite form, better than trying to come off as purely human but not as comfortable as the form that was in-between. Kenma twitched his whiskers and padded over to Kuroo, rubbing their foreheads together and allowing Kuroo to lap at his cheek.

“I assume that what you have to show me isn’t a new grooming technique?” Kenma asked, ducking away from the bite to the shoulder he almost got in return. Instead he walked to the edge of the vent and looked in. They weren’t his favorite means of transport around the house, but he supposed they’d do.

He sneezed.

Kuroo nudged his side, leading the way into the narrow space. “They’re a little dusty, but I’ll go first,” he said.

That wasn’t exactly a comfort, considering that Kenma was normally the one who had to clean Kuroo’s fur. But maybe he could make him go for a swim in the koi pond first.

Just thinking about it made Kenma hungry. It was too bad their koi were enchanted. Maybe he could make him sneak into the Nohebi’s forest and get a fish from their stream. He’d pay Kuguri back later.

It was actually a bit fun to scramble through the ventilation system. It twisted and turned, with light streaming in from the grills that opened onto various rooms in the house. He and Kuroo had hidden in here sometimes growing up, chasing each other around while Nekomata had company over. Back then, they’d tried to be careful about being quiet. Not so much right now.

A young male voice drifted up through the grills. “Mom!” the boy said.

A woman called back to him. “Don’t shout in the house, Shouyou. What’s the matter?”

“There’s noise in the ceiling! It’s really weird!”

“It’s not a big deal, Shouyou.”

Kenma huffed in amusement and stepped a bit harder on the sheet-metal.

“See! Look there it is again!”

The woman made a noise of exasperation right as Kuroo stopped at the vent above the kitchen table. Kenma batted at his dusty black tail, slinking up beside him and snuggling close in the tight quarters.

“It’s just an old house, Shouyou. I’ve told you that. Now, why don’t you put that video game down and go play outside with your sister?” the woman said. Kenma could see her now. She was sitting at the table and pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

“Aww mom, I will later,” the boy she called Shouyou said. “Natsu is playing with some of her dolls right now though. She always wants me to be the bad guy when we play. I’m tired of getting killed.”

The woman made a sound as she poured milk into her bowl, putting a few spoonfuls of sugar on top of the cereal. “I really wish you two would play a less violent game,” she said, lifting the spoon to her mouth.

Kuroo tensed beside him, waving his tail. It almost distracted Kenma from seeing the look on the woman’s face as she almost spit out her cereal.

“Shouyou!” the woman said. “What on earth did you do?”

“Eh?” the redheaded boy replied, glancing up from something he held in his hands.

“I know you didn’t want to move out here, but that’s no reason to be pulling pranks!”

“What do you mean?”

“I just got the salt and sugar yesterday, and you switch them out!”

“I didn’t do that!”

“Who else then? Natsu? You think Natsu switched the salt and the sugar?”

“I don’t know, mom, but I didn’t do it! I promise!”

The woman huffed, getting up and putting her bowl in the sink. She sighed, looking out at the garden for a moment before saying, “First you two talk about seeing a cat in the living room, and we spend an hour searching the bottom floor with nothing to show for it.”

“That was Natsu! Not me! I never saw the cat either!”

“And then, you come in here yelling about weird sounds, and you switch the salt and the sugar?”

“I didn’t!”

“Honestly, I think you spend far too much time playing video games and not enough time outside. Give me that thing,” she said, reaching out and taking the object from Shouyou’s hands, ignoring his protests. “Now, go outside and get some fresh air. Honestly, it’s like you’ve been a different person ever since I said we were moving. Before, you used to go out, bike everywhere, and you knew all the neighbors.”

“But -”

“No buts,” she said. “Out. Now. Go.”

“Aww, mom,” Shouyou whined.

“Now.”

Sighing the boy turned and left the dining room, heading outside.

The woman shook her head as well, putting the object - video game? - on top of the refrigerator before pouring the salt out of the sugar bowl and starting to clean off the table. Kuroo nudged Kenma back from the vent, urging him to start back up they way they’d come.

“Well?” he asked.

Kenma pondered for a moment. “Well, if your objective was to get a boy in trouble with his mother, I think you succeeded.”

“Aww, Kenma!”

Huffing a laugh Kenma ignored the way Kuroo tried to nip at the base of his tail. “Fine. I suppose that it’s a start. Ah, and by the way, you’re going to get me a fish later.”

“One of Daishou’s fish?” Kuroo asked. “Hmm, alright. But will I get kisses for it?”

Kenma just shook his head as he stepped out into the attic. “Maybe.”

The truth was, of course, that Kuroo didn’t need to bribe him for kisses - or anything else - if the timing was right. But it was much more fun to keep him in suspense.

Less work, too.

“Do you have any other grand pranks planned?” Kenma asked, padding over to the blankets and sliding underneath the edge before changing back into semi-human form.

“Maybe,” Kuroo shot back, switching as well. He stretched, showing off his naked body without any hint of humility. “Wanna cuddle first?”

Kenma admired the play of muscles underneath skin. The look Kuroo gave him was far too satisfied, though. “No,” he replied.

Gasping, Kuroo said, “But Kenma!”

“You’re all dirty, and I need to finish my nap,” Kenma said, lips twitching. “Go and play outside, or something.” He couldn’t help letting his gaze linger on Kuroo’s stomach, however.

Evidently Kuroo did notice, because he just smirked. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll bring you a present later, and then you can see what you think about the results of my next big prank.”

Kenma nodded, curling up in the blankets as he listened to Kuroo go down the stairs. He was still upset about the girl from the day before, but knowing that Kuroo had his back made all the difference in the world.

Not that he planned to tell him that anytime soon.

~~~~

Kuroo prowled downstairs, shifting into cat form as he reached the upstairs landing. So the first prank hadn’t actually scared anyone, so what. He was pretty sure that with a string of pranks the mom would eventually get unsettled. Hopefully that would lead to her deciding that staying in the house was too much trouble, and the family would find a nice little place far far away where they'd never have to see them again.

Them, or any other humans. Especially ones that threaten to pull Kenma's tail.

Narrowing his eyes, he decided on the victim of his next prank.

Cocking his head to the side he listened. The mother was downstairs doing the dishes, and the two children were outside playing in the front yard. Kuroo hoped they would wander into Daishou's lot. Let him deal with them. Little humans. Scary creatures.

Whiskers twitching he made his way into the little girl's room.

He caught a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye and twisted to look. For a heart-stopping moment he worried that he'd missed something and that one of the humans was actually up there with him. Or -

It was only a mirror, though.

Kuroo frowned, staring at the mirror a moment. It was new, with a bright pink trim and Hello Kitty stickers rimming the edges. Nothing to be scared of. Maybe he'd imagined movement. Maybe his tail had been twitching, or it had been the reflection of trees moving in the window. It was nothing. He was sure it was nothing.

He rolled his back, turning and licking at his shoulder to smooth down his fur. Here he was, getting so into the whole haunting thing that he was starting to believe it himself. What kind of a bakeneko was he, after all.

Whiskers twitching he nudged the door closed and changed into a form where he could use his hands. The only question was what prank to pull. Something subtle, maybe. He didn't want to hurt her toys, or mess up her bedclothes. Huh. Clothes. Maybe that would work? From what he'd read, sometimes it was the things that were just a little bit off of normal that got people unsettled.

He nodded to himself, pulling out the dresser drawers one by one and checking the contents. Brightly colored shirts, soft dresses, some - what were those - frilly, with little ponies on them, one large hole and two smaller ones -

Eyes widening he slammed that drawer shut.

Even he had his limits.

The others were ok.

The mom evidently heard the noise, because she called out, "Natsu?" from the rooms below. Kuroo held his breath, waiting for the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Nothing came.

She'd probably just dismissed it, just like she had all the noise in the vents. Adult humans seemed to have thick skins. Oh well. Just meant more work for him.

Humming softly, Kuroo pulled out the first shirt and unfolded it, holding it up to the light. Pink, with a big orange and blue ladybug on it. And they called cats colorblind.

Shaking his head, he turned his back to the mirror and got to work. It wasn't that it bothered him or anything. It was just easier this way. He had a lot of work ahead of him.

After all, it seemed that little human girls owned lots of clothes.

~~~~~~

Kenma was in the vents again.

It wasn't exactly that he liked being in the vents. They were, after all, much more dusty than he liked. But he was bored. Kuroo was gone, probably over playing with Daishou. It was far too hot outside to go for a walk, and having strange humans that could see him living in the house meant that he couldn't go outside and curl up on the shaded rock overlooking the koi pond. Humans were annoying.

But sometimes they did things that were at least slightly interesting.

He was watching the colors on the big square rectangle the humans had brought. A television, Kenma thought it was. He'd seen them in store windows but they'd never really meant anything to him. They always just showed more humans doing stupid human tricks.

This one was different.

This one showed a world with bright colors and moving objects. The two children were using little plastic things in their hands to move characters around. Characters with swingy limbs and weird costumes. One looked like he had a burlap sack for a face. It was a game. They were playing. The little girl kept falling into some hole and dying, and then her brother kept missing the jump to get to the next part. Then they'd both start back from the beginning and spend a few minutes having their characters roll their arms and push at each other. It was fascinating, but Kenma knew that they'd get much farther if they actually focused on getting to the next part of the level.

He wanted to see the next part of the level.

He wanted to see what a Boss looked like, and why everyone wanted to get to them.

It was incredibly interesting.

A sharp yell broke his concentration.

"Natsu! What in the world did you do to your clothes?"

The little girl looked shocked, and glanced over at her brother. Shouyou shrugged, just as confused as she was.

Huh. It seemed Kuroo had pulled his next prank.

Kenma half-heartedly followed them up the stairs, looking from side to side through the vents to try and reorient himself. It had just been so long since he'd done this, and the woman's words were loud enough to hear even if he couldn't actually see what was wrong.

"What in the world are you thinking? Shouyou, did you have any part in this?"

"What, mom?" the girl asked.

"All these clothes. I washed all of them, spent an hour last night folding everything before putting it away this morning. Now I come in here to put away the next load of laundry and what do I find? All your clothes are inside out! And they're all in the wrong drawers!"

"But mom, I didn't -"

"Natsu, I swear -" The woman said.

"She didn't, mom!" Shouyou said. "She would never do something like this! I told you, something weird is going on! I didn't switch the salt and sugar, and now this?"

"Now, Shou -"

"Natsu's been with me all morning!" Shouyou said.

Kenma evaluated the truth of this statement, and found it accurate. His limited concern was distracted, though, when he saw a bar of plastic on the top of a wardrobe in one of the bedrooms.

"What?"

"You said you put the clothes away this morning, right? But I know you were finishing folding before I went outside to play, and Natsu was already there, playing with the fish."

"Don't play near the pond without an adult present."

"We know, we know, mom - don't cry, Natsu - but I'm telling you, she was with me the whole time. There's no way she could've done this."

There was silence. Kenma contemplated forcing the screws to unscrew. It was probably easier than going back upstairs and trying to come back down, especially since the grill was right above the top of the wardrobe. The plastic thing was at the edge, but it was within arms length. Well, human arm's length.

"But - that makes no sense," the woman said. Her voice was softer now, and Kenma could detect an undertone of worry in it. "I folded them all - I know I did."

Kenma focused, watching the screw slowly turn. It dropped out before he expected it to, rolling off the edge of the wardrobe and falling onto the floor. Damn.

Oh well.

It still took a bit of shaking before the grill came loose enough to fall to the side, leaving an opening big enough for him to get an arm out. Carefully he extended a paw, watching it grow and thicken, claws elongating into pale fingers that wrapped around the flat plastic rectangle.

It was his.

Getting it back inside the vent was tricky, but he managed. The worst part was holding a semi-transformed arm, short enough to hold a paw on the end but strong enough to support a hand that still cradled the item Shouyou's mom had dubbed a "video game." He even had to twist a bit to pull it in. Finally though the video game was resting on the bottom of the vent next to him.

Feeling vaguely proud of himself Kenma turned, lengthening claws so that he could pull the grill back into place. It hung just so even without the screws. A loud bang might bring it swinging down again, but at least he wouldn't be there to be found by some inquiring human.

He'd be upstairs playing this new "video game" and seeing if it was as interesting on the thing on the television.


	3. .... and so does Kuroo (E)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so the E in the chapter title means SMUT AHEAD *cough*  
> and.... most of this chapter is sin. So hope you enjoy, if that's your thing.
> 
> If not - the smut starts pretty close to the picture? And is basically the rest of the chapter. Just FYI.

Kuroo padded up the stairs feeling vaguely pleased with himself. He’d managed to invade Daishou’s territory without him noticing for a full five minutes this afternoon. Sure, when the snake had actually figured it out and they’d wrestled Kuroo had ended up in the snake’s pond - but he was there to try and catch fish anyway, so that was alright. The fact that Daishou wouldn’t come near him once he’d changed into a human was still hilarious to him. So what if Daishou said he was using nakedness to cheat. The snake cheated in all sorts of other ways, and it was his fault for being so easily embarrassed. It wasn’t like nakedness was automatically about sex.

Although, he thought as he stepped off the top stair, sometimes it was.

But only when that nakedness involved Kenma.

The other neko was sitting in the corner on their shared pile of blankets - clothed, unfortunately, in jeans and a green shirt. Kuroo wondered at first if he’d fallen asleep like that, but then he saw movement. Kenma was hunched over something - maybe a book? He could read, though he rarely bothered. That was more Kuroo’s thing.

Kuroo padded closer, trying to sneak up on the blond. Not that it really mattered, he decided. It wasn’t like he could actually startle Kenma. But it was a bit strange that he hadn’t looked up. Frowning, Kuroo shifted forms, kneeling behind Kenma.

“Hey,” he said, finally getting a glimpse of what the other held in his hands. It was black, with little buttons and a large square in the center where things were moving. “What’s that?”

“Video game,” Kenma said, not looking at him. His thumbs were moving over the buttons so fast they seemed like a blur.

Kuroo wasn’t familiar with what a video game was. He knew what a game was. He was good at games - well, sometimes. Kenma was better. But he wasn’t really sure about video. Something to do with seeing, maybe? A game you saw? Though that didn’t really make sense, because you saw most games.

Except the ones that had more to do with touching.

Smirking, Kuroo shifted so that he was sitting around Kenma and pulled him back into his lap. “I’m all clean,” he said. “There weren’t any fish ready to be eaten in the snakes pool, though.”

Kenma made a noncommittal noise.

For a moment Kuroo was worried that Kenma was upset with him. Maybe the humans had done something while he was gone? He peeked at Kenma’s face. Not upset. That was good. Then what?

“Was the afternoon alright?” he asked, watching to see if Kenma’s ears would twitch back in response. Nothing. Kuroo sighed, leaning forward and running his lips over the edge of the golden ear. Kenma fidgeted in his lap, but other than that he remained completely focused on the video game.

It was annoying.

Then again, if he was otherwise distracted...

“Your clothes seem a bit tight today, Kenma,” he said, pouting at the lack of response. “Can I take them off? Kenma?”

The sound Kenma made could, he was sure, be taken as an affirmative. It might’ve also been just a sound because Kenma was too focused on this game thing. Still, Kuroo decided to be self-indulgent. If Kenma had a problem with it he’d let him know.

He started slow just in case, resting his head on Kenma’s shoulder and sliding a hand beneath his shirt to caress his stomach. Kenma absentmindedly raised his arms to accommodate the move, tilting his head to the side to see the screen better. This also gave Kuroo ample access to his neck.

That at least got Kenma’s attention. “Kuro, what are you doing?” he asked, still pressing the buttons. Kuroo could tell now that what he was doing was moving a little figure on the square. Interesting.

“Grooming,” Kuroo claimed.

“Bullshit.”

Kuroo chuckled and continued to nibble at the smooth column, hand pushing Kenma’s shirt up further. He didn’t know why Kenma bothered with these things here in the house. It was only natural to go around naked. Pants in particular were a pain, but trust Kenma to have studied enough to know how to wear them with his tail out.

And such a lovely tail it was, too. Kuroo moved his free hand down and grasped it, caressing the soft fur as he let it slide through his fingers.

“Kuro,” Kenma said, hips twitching.

“Hmm?” Kuroo replied, smiling. He let the pad of his thumb rub over the sensitive end of the tail, feeling it shift in his hand.

There was a hitch in Kenma’s breathing. “That’s really not grooming,” he muttered.

“Oh. My mistake.”

Giving one last tug he removed his hand, pressing it instead to Kenma’s belly. The muscles rippled under his fingers. Kenma fidgeted, propping one leg up. He was probably just uncomfortable. Kuroo just took it as an invitation to relieve some of the pressure the old-fashioned way, moving his hand from Kenma’s belly down to the top of his jeans and popping open the button.

“Nngh,” Kenma said, hips shifting. “I’m trying to focus here. I’m trying to beat the boss.”

“Oh?” Kuroo asked, letting blunt claws scrape over a sensitive nipple.

Kenma huffed. “You’re insatiable.”

Chuckling under his breath Kuroo lifted his head to get a better view. Kenma was blushing now, tail flicking this way and that. His fingers were no longer moving on the buttons, and the word ‘PAUSE’ was in the center of the square on his video game.

“Maybe you should -” Kuroo started.

Kenma growled. It was startling enough that Kuroo almost took his hands away. Then it didn't really matter, because the game had been tossed to the side and Kenma was twisting on his lap to push him down.

Lifting his hands in submission Kuroo looked at Kenma. Annoyed, yes, but definitely turned on. His tail was lashing in the air, and for a moment Kuroo wondered if Kenma was going to eat him up. He certainly did seem intense.

Narrowing his eyes, Kenma said, “Take my pants off.”

Kuroo blinked. He certainly wasn’t going to refuse that order. Hands shifted to Kenma’s hips, tugging the thick material over the curve of Kenma’s ass and down. He wanted to get a good view of all the flesh that had just been uncovered, but something told him that looking away from Kenma’s eyes in this moment would be a very bad idea.

Besides, he got a better view once Kenma sat back to finish taking off the pants. Kuroo just lay back, completely thankful as Kenma also took off that stupid green shirt. This was how Kenma should be - crouching and naked, reaching out to splay bluntly-clawed fingertips over Kuroo’s belly, tail curving in the air as he leaned forward with a predatory look in his eye.

“Your prank,” Kenma said as he walked his hands up Kuroo’s torso, “got the mother mad at her children again.”

“Is that so?” Kuroo asked, momentarily concerned. He glanced to the side, frowning thoughtfully.

Kenma reached out and took hold of his chin, turning his head back to make sure he had his attention.

“Sorry,” Kuroo said, feeling sheepish.

“I could always go back to playing my game,” Kenma chided.

Kuroo shook his head, eyes widening. He didn’t miss the look of amusement on Kenma’s face, coupled with warm affection. Even if the other man tried to mask his feelings Kuroo knew him. Could read every breath. Loved him.

“I’d rather,” Kuroo said, moving his hands to curl around Kenma’s hips, “you play a new game.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.”

Kenma raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess. That game is you.”

Gasping, Kuroo said, “Kenma! Do you think I would - well - ok, yes.”

Snorting Kenma just shook his head and started to shuffle his way up Kuroo’s body. “Insatiable,” he murmured, hands sliding into Kuroo’s hair. He gently pinched Kuroo’s ears between his fingers, tugging them up in a way that sent blood rushing all sorts of places.

“For you,” Kuroo said, slowly lifting his arms up as Kenma sat on his chest. He glanced down then, licking his lips before glancing back up. “Did you have something in mind?”

Kenma shrugged, giving one last tug before placing his hands on his ankles and arching as he glanced back behind him. “I might,” he said, tail sliding over Kuroo’s belly. It teased over his cock in the most glorious way, soft fur not even nearly enough friction for what Kuroo really wanted. Kenma knew that, of course.

When it came to Kuroo’s desire, Kenma normally knew just about everything.

It made Kuroo want to roll them over. It made him want to wrap his mouth around the hard cock bobbing in the air just this side of too far away from his face. It made him want everything. Desire and denial made him Kenma’s plaything when he got like this, but Kuroo didn’t mind one bit.

He only wished they were closer to the window seat. He was pretty sure that was the last place they’d used that wonderful stuff that Kuguri had gotten him as a thank you present. Why he was receiving thank you presents from snakes he didn’t know, but considering how slippery it made everything, Kuroo wasn’t going to complain.

He’d settle for a taste though. Maybe Kenma would return the favor. Maybe he could pick him up and carry him over. Maybe Kenma would have something even better in mind, there was no telling.

Kenma glanced down at him, tail moving to tickle the insides of Kuroo’s thighs in a way that had him rocking up, trying to get more contact from the tail. “You’re going to get my tail dirty,” Kenma said softly. “And your own, if you start leaking. Then what would be the use of your earlier bath?”

“I’ll do it again.”

“Really?” Kenma asked, leaning forward and placing his hands above Kuroo’s head.

Kuroo nodded in reply, opening his mouth and trying to lift his head to get a taste of the even-closer cock.

Kenma chuckled. “So greedy,” he said, rummaging in the blankets for a moment. “I’m going to want you to move your arms behind me, alright?”

Nodding, Kuroo shifted so that Kenma was straddling his upper chest. Kenma’s bare ass was on his chest. His cock was close, almost close enough. Kuroo was greedy, so greedy. He was also so distracted by by the cock in front of him that he almost didn’t recognize the click. “Eh?”

Kenma looked down, resting his weight on his ass again. “So articulate,” he murmured. “I really should put your mouth to better use.”

“Yes,” Kuroo replied, transfixed by the sight of the light yellow tube in Kenma’s hands. “I thought that was over-”

“It was,” Kenma said, shrugging. A light flush colored his cheeks. “I decided - well - just in case.”

“Kenma,” Kuroo breathed reverently. “You’re amazing.”

“Yeah, well. I figure you can multitask.”

“I can,” Kuroo agreed, nodding and getting distracted again. “Ah, what do you want me to -”

Kenma snorted. “Suck,” he said. “And prep.”

“Alright. Ah, prep who?” Kuroo asked, glancing up again. He loved the idea of being able to bury himself inside Kenma, pulling him undone with every thrust of his cock, every bite of his teeth. He rather liked marking Kenma up with his mouth. Just in case Daishou got any funny ideas. Not that he would, of course, but it was still pleasing to Kuroo to see the red splotches on Kenma’s neck as they went around their day.

But then again, it was always a rush to be fucked by Kenma. His lover knew exactly how to use his hands to perfection, long fingers reaching inside and holding him open, sometimes morphing into claws that raked down skin in a way that left Kuroo completely falling apart.

He wanted it all. Never got tired of it. And since Kenma obviously had something in mind, he was more than happy to see how things went.

“Ah, me,” Kenma replied, flush deepening. “Just don’t forget to take care of your claws before -”

Kuroo nodded, taking the tube when Kenma passed it back to him. He would’ve answered, but Kenma took the opportunity to lean forward, lifting up enough so that his cock was in the perfect position for Kuroo to stick out his tongue and lick.

The taste, as ever, was addicting. The sound Kenma made when Kuroo opened his mouth and let him push inside was even better. Suckling on the head Kuroo used his lips to push back Kenma’s foreskin, tongue slipping over the revealed slit. That made Kenma make even more sounds, thrusting shallowly into Kuroo’s mouth. This was perfection.

Remembering his other job Kuroo squeezed some lube onto his fingers, setting the tube on his stomach and reaching up to cup Kenma’s ass. He loved the way the muscles tightened up, responding to his mouth and the way he squeezed with his hand. But best of all was that tiny little pucker.

He pressed it with one slicked-up finger, wiggling the fingertip around the ring as it tightened and pushed out against him, sucking him in. Slowly he worked his way in, moving his finger in time with the thrusts of Kenma’s hips as he pushed into his mouth.

They couldn’t be too loud now. Not with the humans in the house. The thought that one of the humans could somehow figure out how to unlock the attic door and come up and find them doing this sent a strange thrill up his spine. What would they think, he wondered, to find the two of them going at it, his finger sliding deep inside Kenma’s ass while Kenma’s cock pushed even deeper into his mouth? Fuck, if he had his mouth free, he’d ask Kenma what he thought.

Maybe he’d ask him later, while he was fucking him.

The thought made him suck harder, relishing the strangled gasp that fell from Kenma’s mouth. Recklessly Kuroo pulled his finger out and pressed back in with two, curling his fingers to try and find that spot that made Kenma make even more noises. He slid his free hand up and wrapped it around the base of Kenma’s tail, holding it firmly as he pushed deep inside. It had the intended effect - Kenma gave a little mewl before stopping himself, back arching as he thrust harder into Kuroo’s mouth. He loved it when Kenma got like this, giving himself over to sheer pleasure. It boded very well for what was to come.

But first, the one to come needed to be Kenma.

Kuroo pushed deep inside, pulling out and judging that his lover was ready for three fingers. It wasn’t terribly needed. Getting him nice and wet inside was most important; Kenma could relax and take him easily now. But fingering him was a huge part of the fun. There was something incredible about being able to feel him inside, manipulate his pleasure with every twitch of a fingertip. Here. He was going to press his cock in here. Here was heaven. Here was the deepest darkest part of Kenma, and it was Kuroo’s favorite place in the world.

A few crooks of a finger, a few firm tugs on Kenma’s tail, a few hard sucks and Kenma was speeding up, panting, making little gasping sounds that Kuroo couldn’t get enough of. He wasn’t the type to deny his lover anything, especially a well-deserved orgasm, so he ramped up his efforts. Kenma’s head was thrown back. Kenma was putty in his hands. Kenma was going to -

“Ah, Kuro,” Kenma breathed out, muscles tightening as he pushed in deep and released. Pure pleasure. Perfect. Beautiful. His.

Kuroo drank it all down, sucking until Kenma pulled away, collapsing onto the blankets beside him. His fingers slid out as well and he let go of Kenma’s tail. Sometimes he wanted to stay inside, hold Kenma down, force - but no.

That wouldn’t work with Kenma. He’d learned the hard way that it was never a good idea to get Kenma too overstimulated. Instead he just curled over on his side and watched him, drinking in the sight of his lover’s panting body as he rode out the pleasure of the orgasm.

“So beautiful,” Kuroo murmured.

Kenma’s ears twitched in recognition of the word, but that was all. His golden eyes were closed, lips slightly open. Kenma’s hands were splayed out to either side of his body. Kuroo watched the flush that had spread over his shoulders and chest start to fade, trying to judge the right moment to strike. Too soon, and Kenma would be unhappy. Too late, and he might doze off. So lazy sometimes, but so worth it.

Finally, Kuroo took the chance, leaning forward and kissing Kenma’s shoulder.

Turning his head Kenma opened his eyes, a wan smile crossing his lips. Kuroo wanted to kiss those lips, but not quite yet. Soon. Instead, he slid a hand over Kenma’s belly, watching carefully as he slowly pulled the smaller man in to cuddle with him. Cuddling was good. Post-orgasm Kenma was soft, and didn’t yell at Kuroo when he started to groom his ears. Instead he just sighed and snuggled back, still riding the shocks of his afterglow.

After a few minutes Kenma pulled back, blinking up at him lazily.

“Hmm?” Kuroo asked.

“You were just sucking my cock,” Kenma murmured, gaze tracing lower on Kuroo’s face.

“I was,” Kuroo murmured, narrowing his eyes a moment to try and figure out where Kenma was going with this.

“I want to see.”

Oh. That. Kuroo smirked a moment before opening his mouth wide. Kenma brought up a hand and pressed two fingers against Kuroo’s tongue, pushing it down, pushing them in deep. Then he leaned forward and lapped at the inside of Kuroo’s mouth with his own tongue.

Kuroo sucked in a breath and opened his mouth wider, hand sliding to grip Kenma’s waist. The fingers slipped away from his mouth and Kenma sank into the kiss, rolling to lay on top of Kuroo as they explored each other’s mouths. Kuroo loved this, both of them pressed so tightly together, Kenma’s body hot and heavy against his, fully available for his hands to explore.

He wondered if Kenma tasted himself inside Kuroo’s mouth. He wondered what Kenma wanted, what Kenma needed. His own cock was hard, rubbing up against the softness of Kenma’s belly, wanting more and more with every breath to be buried deep inside him.

Finally it got to the point where Kuroo couldn’t take it any more. He rolled them over and crouched, plundering Kenma’s mouth with his own. It was a glorious thing because Kenma was just letting him do it, letting him taste and take and have.

He lifted his head and looked down at his lover. “I want you,” Kuroo growled out.

Lips twitching, Kenma stretched his arms above him and arched his back. “If you want me,” he purred, “you’re going to have to do something about it.”

Kuroo stared down at him, drinking all of it in. One hand slid down Kenma’s chest, thumb shifting into a claw that stroked a budding nipple hard enough to break that nonchalant facade and expose the need that lay underneath. Then Kuroo was the one smirking, waiting, sliding his fingertips further down to over Kenma’s belly and lower before slipping over to curl around his hip.

“Don't mind if I do.”

Kenma gasped as Kuroo pulled, flipping him over and pulling him up onto his hands and knees. There was a glare in those beautiful golden eyes as Kenma looked back at him, tail thrashing from side to side. “What are you -”

“Taking,” Kuroo answered, thrusting a now clawless thumb deep inside Kenma’s ass and making him gasp. He tugged on Kenma’s tail with his other hand, urging the tail to coil higher on Kenma’s body so that he could have the perfect view as he slid his second thumb in beside the first. It was incredible. Kenma shuddered, pressing back against him, legs shifting open wider in response to Kuroo’s urging.

“Damn, Kenma,” he murmured. He’d never get tired of this view. Of anything Kenma, really. “I love you.”

Kenma jerked in his grasp, face pressed down against his folded arms. “Your timing sometimes really - ah!”

Smirking Kuroo pulled his thumbs out to hold the hole open, pressing his cock inside inch by inch. Kenma was cursing under his breath, a light flush covering his shoulders and working its way down. “Love you,” Kuroo whispered, hand rubbing circles on Kenma’s lower back. “Love you, always love you.”

And then he was fully inside.

Kenma’s tail was trembling, beating a quicksilver rhythm against his back. It made Kuroo smile. He knew Kenma loved the first moments of penetration, especially when he was in this mood. He loved being taken, feeling Kuroo’s hands wrap around his hips, pull back so that there was no question that he was fully impaled. It was overwhelming him enough that Kuroo could almost feel his form fraying at the edges. He loved it when he could make Kenma’s spirit leak outside his body. Kenma could always do him one better in that department, of course - not that Kuroo minded.

He enjoyed those moments too.

All too soon Kenma was wiggling his hips though, ass tightening around Kuroo’s cock with sudden impatience. Kuroo smiled. He slid his hands around Kenma’s body and up his chest, gently urging Kenma to lift himself up. Sighing sweetly Kenma followed along, a groan escaping as Kuroo pulled him back flush against him and sat back on his heels.

“So deep,” Kenma murmured, leaning back as Kuroo slid his hands back down under Kenma’s knees, pulling his legs up to his chest. It was a position they didn’t do often, but it let Kuroo feel as if he had total control. If Kenma allowed them to sink into that illusion, Kuroo was not going to complain.

“You’re beautiful,” Kuroo replied, pulling his hips back and lifting Kenma’s body up only to drop it back down on his cock.

Kenma gasped, head rolling back against Kuroo’s shoulder. That gave Kuroo full access to his neck so he took advantage, kissing and sucking the pale column, drinking in every noise that spilled through it. His arms were trembling with the effort to hold Kenma’s full weight like this but he persevered, pulling on seldom-used reserves in order to sate his selfish desire.

Soon enough Kenma was urging him to move faster, hips rocking with every thrust. Kuroo felt strength seep into him from his lover and drank it down greedily, using it to prolong the pleasure they shared. It was overwhelming enough that he felt the edges fraying between them, spirit sliding over spirit, binding them even closer than mere bodies would allow. “I love you,” he repeated, “Love you Kenma, my Kenma, my lover.”

Kenma gasped, body arching tight as Kuroo gave into full temptation and bit down, knowing it would send him over the edge. The feeling of Kenma falling to pieces in his grasp was enough to send Kuroo over the edge as well, spiraling into the abyss of perfection as he held Kenma tight.

Then it was over.

Kenma’s body twitched in his grasp. “Kuro,” he murmured.

“Hmm?”

“Kuro, let me down. And get out of me, it’s annoying.”

Kuroo pouted, nuzzling Kenma’s neck. “Don’t wanna.”

“Oh for -” Kenma murmured, pushing his legs forward and breaking Kuroo’s hold before sliding off of his cock and crawling forward on the blankets.

Kuroo whined, sliding down onto his side and reaching a hand out to try and pull him back. “Kenma,” he murmured. “Kenma where are you going.”

“Hush,” Kenma murmured, grabbing something from between the blankets before coming back to curl up with Kuroo. “You’re always so greedy on afternoons like this,” he murmured, hands already pressing buttons on the device in his hands.

“Mmm, can’t help it,” Kuroo murmured, licking softly at the bite he’d inflicted earlier. “Want all of you.”

“You just had me,” Kenma complained. “Twice.”

There was a tone of amusement in his voice though, and he wasn’t pulling away, so Kuroo knew that Kenma wasn’t really mad. So he just continued grooming, smiling into Kenma’s hair and patting at his belly.

All in all, he had to say it had been a very good afternoon.


	4. Discoveries and Reminiscences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two pieces of Cel's art in this, wheeeeee :)

Video games were addicting.

Kenma pressed the shiny multicolored buttons, navigating through the green and black menus the way he’d seen the boy do earlier that day. He was sitting on the coffee table in the living room downstairs. It was more comfortable that way while he had his tail out, and being fully human seemed like a waste of effort.

Effort he’d rather put into figuring out this game.

The character on the screen jumped and rolled, sword slashing through inky monsters. He’d muted the television so that the children didn’t wake up. He supposed this could be considered a prank, but he also didn’t want to be interrupted. Maybe later. Maybe after he’d beaten this level -

“Shouyou?” called a voice from upstairs.

Kenma froze, feeling the hair on the back of his neck prickle up.

Pausing the game he slowly looked around, coming face to face with the young boy. The moment stretched between them. Kenma watched as brown eyes grew large under his bright red hair. The boy saw him. He wasn’t just seeing the video game on the television, or the controller hovering in the air - he saw him. He saw him. He wasn’t supposed to see him. He was only human and humans weren’t supposed to see him -

The boy’s face split in a wide grin, and he waved.

Kenma blinked.

“There you are Shou - what are you doing?” said the woman, now from what sounded like the base of the stairs.

“Aww, mom, come’re! Look!” the boy said turning his head towards the hallway.

Kenma broke free of whatever had held him frozen, swiftly shifting into cat form and diving under the nearest couch. The controller clattered to the surface of the table but Kenma didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything but getting out of sight. Humans weren’t supposed to see him. He’d thought they were asleep, what if the mother found him, there was no telling what she would do.

“What, Shouyou? You’re supposed to be in bed, it’s past midnight.”

“But mom - awww, he left! Where did he go?” the boy said.

“Where did who - was there someone in the house? I should call the police.”

“Awww no mom, he looked nice. See, he was playing my video games.”

Kenma peeked out from under the couch and saw the woman. Her expression was shifting from worry to mild disbelief.

“Video games,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah! He was sitting on the table, right there! See, he must’ve dropped the controller. And he had - uh -”

“Yes?”

The boy looked a bit sheepish for a moment, then turned bright eyes on his mother. “He had a tail! And ears! And he was wearing a green hoodie!”

“A tail,” she said, frowning. “A tail and ears - like the characters in that manga you read?”

“Yeah! Yeah! Exactly like that. Well except -”

The woman huffed, interrupting him. “Shouyou, this is not one of your fantasies. We do not have cat people in our house.”

Shouyou frowned. “But mom, I -”

“You can’t make up wild stories just to excuse coming down here to play video games late at night!”

“But I’m not! Look, it’s not even my game!”

The woman glanced over to the television and huffed. “Shouyou - was there an intruder here or not?”

“There was!” he insisted.

“Well then where did he go. This is the only door to the room, except for those sliding doors that go to the garden room, but it looks like they haven’t been opened in years.”

Shoyou pouted. “He was here. He had black and blond hair, and one black ear and one blond ear, and a long slinky tail. Maybe you scared him!”

Slinky? His tail was slinky? Kenma would have to ask Kuroo about that.

The woman sighed. “Well, maybe you were sleepwalking,” she said, looking again at the television, worry in her eyes.

“I wasn’t! I just came down for a glass of milk, and then I saw the light on over here, and walked in.”

“Enough,” his mother said, walking over to the television and turning it off. She picked the controller up off the floor and looked around worriedly, making Kenma pull back under the couch to make sure she didn’t see him. He eyed the underside of the couch, wondering if he could figure out a way to press himself into it if she tried to look around further.

That worry was waylaid when the woman walked back towards the door.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s just go back to bed. I’m sure it was nothing.”

“But mom -”

“No buts, young man. I need you to get your sleep. You’re going to be doing an awful lot of cleaning tomorrow.”

“Aww....”

Kenma tried to relax, listening as they went up the stairs. That had been close.

Too close.

He frowned to himself, deciding to travel through the vents rather than risk the stairs again tonight. These humans were dangerous. Though the boy had waved -

Well, whatever they were, these humans needed to leave.

But they didn’t necessarily need to take their video games with them.

~~~~~~

Kuroo was curled up in his southern window in the attic. He’d meant to be reading, but even the book of ghost stories he held in his hand couldn’t keep his attention. Instead, he found himself looking out on the garden and the expanse of trees beyond the fence. There were lights in the treetops, kodama playing kodama games above all the cares of the rest of the world. Nekomata had liked the tree spirits. Although Kuroo was loathe to admit it, Nekomata had liked the snakes as well. But they weren’t his creatures.

The koi in garden pond had been Nekomata's creatures. Kuroo remembered long afternoons spent wandering through the garden, ducking underneath bushes and climbing trees while Nekomata and Kenma lazed around near the pool. The flashing white and black and red in the water had been alluring, but Kuroo had learned early that they weren’t for eating. They were special. They were Nekomata’s own. But they weren’t his children.

Kenma and Kuroo were the closest thing Nekomata had to children. They were the ones who got to live with him in the house. They were the ones who learned to read by sitting in his lap, watching his fingers trace characters in the sand. There were boxes in the corner filled with the picture books he’d bought to help them learn the kanji and kana. Kuroo had always enjoyed it more than Kenma. Kenma preferred other games, games with tiles that he and Nekomata moved on some of those lazy afternoons in the garden.

Kuroo remembered evenings curling up under a kotatsu as snow fell outside, reading history books while Nekomata and Kenma played shogi near a lantern in the corner. He remembered the expectation and pride on Nekomata’s face as he watched Kenma think through a move. He remembered Kenma’s tail flicking back and forth, eyes still as he studied the board.

He wasn’t sure how many seasons had passed that way, cozy winters warming into springs where Oikawa and Iwaizumi showed up to wake up the sleeping plants, spring sliding into summers spent exploring the garden and sparring with the snakes, summer fading into a fall with brilliant colors and more visits from the green spirits as they sang the plants to sleep, and fall cooling to a winter with occasional blankets of snow.

They’d rarely ventured out beyond the confines of the yard. Outside was strange; it was loud with too many things Kuroo preferred only to read about. He had enjoyed the yearly trips to the temple on New Year’s, but the trip back home was always his favorite part. Home was peace, and warmth, and safety. Even after Nekomata had left, the house was home.

Now, home felt strange.

He flicked his ear at the sound of metal moving at the grate over the vent. Glancing back, he watched as Kenma padded into the room, nosing beneath a robe and then sliding into it after he transformed. “I destroyed a perfectly good sweatshirt and jeans just now,” he said, tightening the robe and coming over to curl up beside Kuroo.

“Oh?” Kuroo asked, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close.

Kenma nodded, resting his head against Kuroo’s chest. He didn’t seem frightened, not like the other day. This Kenma was thoughtful, quiet. Still off-kilter, enough that he had sought the comfort of Kuroo’s arms in a way he didn’t normally need, but otherwise calm.

Kuroo hugged him tighter, letting his unread book fall to the side. He rocked him back and forth, humming tunelessly as he gazed out the window. There was something wrong in their home. Something that unnerved him. A part of it was the humans, but he wasn’t entirely sure that was all of it. Echoes of his nightmares seemed to be seeping into the cracks in the hall, darkness within the darkness. He didn’t like it.

“Maybe we should hold off on pranking for a bit,” Kuroo said, surprised the words had escaped his lips. Surprised he’d even thought them.

Kenma made a thoughtful sound, shrugging as he burrowed closer to Kuroo’s chest. “They still haven’t found the key to the attic door,” he mused. “We could wait and see how they react to what’s happened so far.”

Nodding, Kuroo ran his fingers over the silky robe, reassuring himself of Kenma’s presence. As long as he had Kenma, he was fine. As long as Kenma wasn’t unhappy, he was fine.

“The boy saw me tonight.”

Kuroo let his hands still as he processed that statement. There were layers to it. No fear in Kenma’s tone. Curiosity, perhaps? Kuroo wasn’t sure. “And how was that?”

“Mmm,” Kenma said, “Interesting. I was too caught up in the game of his to notice that he came into the room. When I turned around, he just stared at me. Then, ah...”

“Yes?”

“He waved at me.”

“Waved at you?”

Nodding, Kenma continued. “Then his mother came down the hall and I darted under the couch - that’s when I had to destroy the clothes. And he told her about seeing me, of course. But he said I was, ah.”

“What?”

“He said I looked nice.”

Kuroo blinked. “Nice.”

“Ah, yes. He - I think I might remind him of some sort of person in a story he reads.”

“Story.”

Kenma huffed. “Yes, well, with the ears and the tail I -”

Kuroo couldn’t help it. He busted out laughing. The sharp jab of an elbow in his stomach only made him laugh harder, stopping only when Kenma started to scramble out of his arms.

“Wait, wait,” he said, nipping the back of his neck. “Wait, I’m sorry. It’s ok, I’m sorry.”

Grumbling Kenma curled back up in his lap, reaching down to pick up the book he dropped. “Finally reading the book of strange tales I got you last year?” he said, pale fingers dancing over the creature in the corner of the cover.

“I thought I might find some ideas,” he said. “But the kodama distracted me.”

“They do that,” Kenma said. “Dancing under the stars. Sometimes I wonder if the lights in the sky are really just the inhabitants of one huge forest, too far away for us to see.”

There was a quiet longing in Kenma’s voice at that. He’d always been more of an explorer than Kuroo. It was strange, in a way, because he was so much more easily frightened. Still, there was a subtle curiosity about him, and Kuroo knew he was stronger than it might at first appear.

“I don’t know,” Kuroo said, nuzzling Kenma’s ears and mouthing at the soft fur. “Perhaps one day we’ll find out.”

“Maybe,” Kenma murmured, body melting against Kuroo as the taller cat began to groom him.

For a few moments, at least, this was all there was to the world. The two of them curled up together, lights dancing in the trees beyond the window, and the twinkling stars processing in their stately array across the blackness of the sky.

~~~~

A couple days later, Kenma was up in the attic listening to the rain. His favorite window seat was too cold to sit in. The blankets smelled too much like Kuroo and sex. Not that he minded the smell of Kuroo, but he really wasn't in the mood right now, not with the house feeling so strange. So instead of his usual haunts he was curled up in the large plush chair that Kuroo had placed beside his bookshelves near the southern window, covering up with a quilt and playing the PSP he'd stolen from the top of the woman's wardrobe.

Normally he liked the rain.

Today, though, the rain felt unseasonably chilly. A lot of times the heat from the rest of the house rose into the attic and made sure things were a comfortable temperature, but not today. Today Kenma wondered if his fingers were going to freeze as they pressed at the buttons. At least his ears had fur on them to keep them warm.

The stairs creaked behind him and he sighed. Kuroo had gone out before it started raining. Kenma wasn't really sure what he had been up to, but he certainly wasn't going to be sympathetic if he'd been caught out in the rain. The thought of a waterlogged Kuroo dripping all over the sheets certainly didn't seem very appealing, not when he was this cold. Hopefully he'd found a place to dry off.

The footsteps stopped at the top of the stairs.

The moment stretched long enough that Kenma sighed, turning his head to snip at the other cat. Before he could tell him exactly why he should've heeded Kenma's warnings about the weather, though, he stopped.

The person at the top of the stairs wasn't Kuroo.

Kenma's eyes widened, feeling caught out once again.

"You!"

Swallowing, Kenma pulled his head back, wishing he could hide. Where would he go, though? There weren't any good hiding places in the attic, and the vent was on the other side of the room.

Footsteps crossed the wooden floor to him and he sank further into the musty velvet.

"It's rude -" Kenma started to mumble.

"You're the one who stole my video game!" the boy said. Shouyou. The boy’s name was Shouyou.

Kenma looked down at the game in his hand, trying to ignore the presence of a human boy less than an arm’s length away. He struggled internally, trying to figure out what to do next. Lash out? Hurt the boy? Run away?

Before he could do any of those things, however, the boy just sat down on the stool next to him and tilted his head, trying to get a good look at Kenma. "I didn't mean to scare you," he said.

Blinking, Kenma glanced at him, raising his head enough to be able to look into the boy's brown eyes. He didn't look angry. He looked a little concerned. His eyes were filled with a brilliant honesty that made Kenma even more conflicted about what Kuroo and he had been doing. "It's ok," he murmured.

"But that is my video game, right? I mean, mom - she said she didn't remember where she put it, but that's not like her. She's been really stressed out since we came here."

Slowly Kenma nodded, looking at the screen before sighing and turning the game off. "I wanted to see what it was like," Kenma said, biting the inside of his bottom lip before reluctantly handing the machine back to Shouyou. "I'd never played one before."

"That's ok," Shouyou said. "Woah, never played a video game before?"

Kenma shook his head.

"Wow! That's awful! And you seem to really like them too - you got pretty far the other day on the one down in the living room! Maybe you could borrow my 3DS? I don't use it much."

Shrugging, Kenma glanced at him again. Shouyou was staring at his tail where it flicked in the air. It made Kenma uncomfortable, so he pulled his ears and tail in, shifting to full human form.

"Woah!" Shouyou said, eyes wide. "You - how did you do that! That was amazing!"

"Um," Kenma started, trying to figure out how to answer. "It's a secret?"

"That's incredible! Man, I wish I could do that," the boy said. "Can you do claws too?"

Kenma nodded, pressing deeper into the chair.

"Wow! Wait, Natsu said she saw a cat. Can you change into a cat?"

"Well," Kenma said, "Yes."

"That's so cool. Oh, I'm Hinata by the way. Shouyou Hinata."

"Ah," Kenma said, "Kozume. Kenma ... Kozume."

"Wow. Nice to meet you, Kenma. Please take care of me."

"Yes," Kenma replied, glancing over to the side. Evidence of his habitation with Kuroo was everywhere up here. Would they have to hide it all?

"Mom didn't think we'd be able to find a key that fit the old door to the attic. She was going to have someone come in and fix it later. I found a key in the desk in the library though."

"You went through Nekomata's desk?" Kenma asked.

"Is that the name of the guy who used to live here?" Shouyou asked. "It seems like he was incredible!"

"He was," Kenma replied, feeling vaguely ill at the thought of someone going through Nekomata's things. Kuroo would be upset. Kuroo always kept that desk clean, replacing everything just so when he was done.

"You knew him then?" Shouyou asked, voice gentling. "Wow. You seem - well, you don't see much older than me. I'm surprised you knew him."

"He raised - ah - me," Kenma said, not wanting to give away Kuroo's presence if the boy didn't know about it already.

"Oh," Shouyou said, glancing down and rubbing his nose with his thumb. "I'm sorry. You really do live here, then."

"Yes," Kenma replied, fidgeting a bit. "It's our home."

"Our?"

Blinking, Kenma realized his mistake. He tried to correct it by saying, "Mine and Nekomata's."

"Oh," Shouyou said, taking his words at face value. "Oh. And we just moved in."

Kenma nodded.

Shouyou messed around with his video game a few minutes while he mulled this over. "Is that why you were playing pranks? Switching the salt and sugar, I mean, and the thing with Natsu's clothes, and the mirrors."

"Ah," Kenma said, trying to figure out what to say. In the end he just shrugged again.

Not that Shouyou seemed to expect much of anything else. "Well I guess it makes sense. You're a spirit, right? That’s why no one knew - huh."

Kenma glanced away then back at the boy, wishing for a moment he had the ability to read minds.

Finally Shouyou said, "Do you think, maybe, we could all live together? I mean, we can't go back to the city now. And I miss my friends, but well. Mom's already gotten rid of the apartment, and she has us enrolled in school, and it’s actually really cool living out here in the country. There's way more space here than we had in our old place. Natsu and I even have our own rooms. I'm sorry."

Kenma made a small noise, thinking about it. His instinct was to like this boy. It made no sense. Humans normally made his hair stand on end. In Shouyou's company, now that he'd gotten over the initial shock of seeing him, Kenma felt calm. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, not really sure what to say.

Finally, he decided to try some words. "I -" he started.

A bloodcurdling scream tore open the air, and the two of them looked at each other, wide-eyed.

"Natsu," Shouyou finally gasped out. "That's my sister. We were playing hide and seek - oh man - I need to go -"

Kenma watched as the redhead ran over to the stairs, almost tripping over himself in his haste to leave.

"Bye," Kenma said to the empty air after the boy was gone.

Shouyou had, of course, taken the game with him.

Kenma frowned, tugging the blanket back up around him as he thought. Had Kuroo scared her? Was it something worse? Children did get injured, he knew, falling and breaking things and being clumsy.

The girl - Natsu - had sounded terrified.

He was surprised to realize that he cared.

"I hope that wasn't you, Kuroo," he mumbled, turning to look out the north window. It shouldn't matter. The top priority was, as always, to clear the humans out of their house so things could go back to normal. A little scare or two shouldn't be that big a deal

But she was just a little girl.

Kenma frowned, picking at the hem of the quilt. It was all too confusing, he thought. When Kuroo got back, he'd talk it over with him.

He wondered why it was so hard, why everything had become so complicated. Not just with the humans, but even with how he felt. He liked the children. Well, he liked Shouyou. It made no sense.

But there it was.

The world had shifted when he wasn't looking, breaking the clear lines of friend and enemy into a multihued path of possibility.

Kenma frowned.

The humans had changed everything. The humans, it seemed, had changed him as well.

He only hoped that the future wouldn't come crashing down on them like the sound of a little girl's scream.


	5. Strangers and Owls

Kuroo scrambled up the vent shafts, making a beeline for the attic. What if something had happened to Kenma? That hadn’t been his voice, but -

He was afraid. Afraid that Kenma might be physically hurt. Afraid he’d been caught. Afraid that maybe maybe, he’d been the one to make the little girl scream like that.

Kenma wouldn’t do that though, would he? Kenma -

Kuroo burst into the attic, relief flooding through him when he saw Kenma curled up in his chair. His first instinct was to rush over and make sure he was alright, but when Kenma lifted his head and turned to look at him, something in his expression made Kuroo pause.

Kenma did not look happy.

Warily Kuroo padded forward, trying to read the nuances of why Kenma was in a foul mood. It was hard to tell if he was upset at Kuroo specifically or at the humans. Maybe he had been the one to scare the girl? If he was this annoyed he might’ve done something - though Kuroo wasn’t quite sure how to ask him.

“Why did you scare the girl?”

Kuroo blinked, sitting back on his haunches. “What?”

Growling lowly Kenma dropped to the floor, shifting forms in mid-air, calico fur springing up from a suddenly smaller body. “I thought we said we were going to hold off,” Kenma said as he stalked closer. “You were the one who suggested it.”

“I didn’t scare her!”

“Well, she certainly sounded terrified.”

“I know! That’s why I came up here. I thought you -” Kuroo started, pausing as Kenma’s tail twitched back and forth angrily. Fighting with Kenma - serious fighting - was never a good idea.

Besides, it was coming clear to him that whatever he’d thought, Kenma was not responsible for the little girl’s terror. Kuroo knew he wasn’t responsible for it either; he’d been down exploring the crawlspace under the house and watching the rain. That was strange.

Kenma stared at him a long moment. “You weren’t the one who scared her,” he mused.

“Nope. I was underneath the house,” Kuroo said, relaxing a bit as he saw Kenma nod in acceptance of that. “And you weren’t the one either, evidently.”

“No,” Kenma said, sitting back on his haunches and looking out at the rain. “I was up here, talking to Shouyou.”

“Shouyou?” Kuroo asked.

“The boy.”

“Ah.”

The thought of the human being up in the attic was troubling. Kuroo moved closer to Kenma, rubbing the bridge of his forehead against the other’s shoulder even though he didn’t smell anything human on Kenma’s fur. Humans shouldn’t be up here. Kenma shouldn’t be talking to humans. Bad enough that he talked to the snake, and went into town.

“Kuro,” Kenma said, nudging him.

“Hmm?” Kuroo mused, nipping at the back of Kenma’s neck.

Kenma twisted away, batting his nose in frustration. “Kuro, stop.”

“What?”

“You’re ignoring the problem.”

Kuroo sulked, rubbing at his nose and glancing over at Kenma. He wanted to pounce on him, wrestle him across the floor, make sure there was no human scent on him. “I think having humans invade our house is a pretty big problem,” he growled. “Especially if they’re getting cozy with you.”

Huffing, Kenma shook his head. “No. Well, I mean it is. Though the boy isn’t so bad.”

“Not so bad?” Kuroo said. “Then what?”

Kenma sighed, tail flicking back and forth as he stared at Kuroo. “If you didn’t scare the girl, and I didn’t scare the girl, then what did?”

Oh. That.

It was a good question. This was a girl who splashed outside in the mud and wrestled in the yard with her big brother. Kuroo had seen her yell at spiders in the garden, and there weren’t any mice in the house. Her brother had been up here, so he hadn’t startled her.

Besides, that hadn’t sounded like a startled scream. He didn’t have much experience with little girls, so he wasn’t sure, but it had sounded like a scream of pure terror.

He was reminded of his nightmares for some reason, and the eerie feeling he’d had that something had moved inside the mirror in her room.

But that couldn’t be it. They were the only spirits in the house. Weren’t they?

Kuroo shivered, snuggling closer to Kenma for reassurance. “I don’t know,” he said.

“I don’t know either,” Kenma murmured, curling even more tightly against him.

Kuroo breathed in and out, listening to the soft thump of Kenma’s heartbeat. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like it one bit. The house felt off, unsettling in a way he didn’t understand. He hated it.

He wanted his home back.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The house was quiet. Kenma flicked one ear to the side as he padded carefully down the stairs and onto the bottom floor. All he heard was the muffled clink of ceramic on ceramic from the kitchen. The mother was washing dishes. Probably trying to keep things as ordinary as possible.

Instead, over the past few days, things had been getting even more tense. About the only good thing had been talking to Shouyou and learning more about video games.

Kenma wasn’t worried about Shouyou's mother, though. He knew for a fact that, unlike her children, the mother couldn’t see him. She’d surprised him the other morning by coming into Shouyou’s room with arms full of laundry. He’d been nosing around the boy’s game collection at the time.

She hadn’t seen a thing.

The kids, of course, were another story. Well, Shouyou seemed to be alright, though the attic incident hadn’t been repeated. Instead, the children normally played outside, these days. Earlier, the girl had been huddled out by the koi pond, trailing a stick listlessly through the water. Shouyou had been trying all sorts of things to make her happy, but whatever had happened to make her scream had evidently left her fairly unsettled.

Kenma wasn’t really sure how to feel about that.

He padded toward the library, stopping in front of a long antique mirror. It had been covered with black cloth, just like all the other mirrors in the house. Kuroo said it had to do with some superstition, though what he meant by that Kenma had no clue.

Not that it mattered.

Kenma didn’t really like mirrors anyway.

When he was young he hadn’t even really understood what they were. For the longest time he’d thought they were just more paintings, images that sometimes moved. It wasn’t until he’d asked Nekomata why his hair was black when he looked into the pond and blond when he looked in the moving pictures that he’d realized that something was wrong.

His hair was black, then. He’d pulled out a few strands to check, and later on, when Kuroo had dragged him in front of one of the mirrors in the house, his hair had been black there too. But that wasn’t the end of it. It was only after Kuroo started asking him questions that he figured out that what he saw in the mirror and what Kuroo and Nekomata saw was something quite different.

Changing his hair to blond to match the reflection just made things easier.

So did ignoring the mirrors in the house - well, most of the time. Now, he was curious, so he pawed at the black cloth hanging over the mirror standing next to the living room door and peered inside. He saw what he normally saw - the rest of the front hallway, with a black cloudy sky showing through the window in the door, and himself as a human sitting with his back against the door. There was something in his hands, but he didn’t recognize it. A lot of times, his reflection was like that, though.

Reflections just worked differently for him, that was all.

His reflection looked up at him and glared. The pure malice in his eyes made Kenma pull back, letting the black cloth fall back against the glass. He wondered what would happen to make him that angry. Feeling a sense of foreboding, he rushed into the library, tail swishing back and forth when just a moment later he heard the woman’s footsteps as she walked from the kitchen and out the front door.

Kenma padded over to the floor vent and tapped it, looking down to see Kuroo looking up at him.

“You’re awfully bold to be exploring the house,” Kuroo said.

Kenma gave a little shrug. “Kids are still outside, right?”

“Yeah, playing in the front yard now. Ah -”

Kenma’s ears flicked as he heard unfamiliar voices in the front yard. Curious, he jumped up on the desk and then peered through the window. Two strangers, one with black and gray hair, one with just black curly hair. There was something odd about the one with bicolored hair. He glanced up at the house and Kenma instinctively pulled back. He was an adult. He wouldn’t’ve seen anything. There was no reason to be nervous.

Frowning, Kenma hopped up on top of the bookshelves, settling in the shadows as he heard the humans enter the house. For a moment he was worried they would come in the library, but they instead went into the living room. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.

He wove between the mementoes that Nekomata had stored on the top of the shelves, keeping one ear cocked on the murmur of conversation in the next room. It was probably nothing. Maybe the kids’ teachers, come to say hello. Did teachers do that? Make home visits? He thought he remembered Kuroo telling him about a story where they did.

Then he heard voices at the library door, and he froze. He didn’t want to be seen by the man with the strange hair. He didn’t feel like - well he did feel like a teacher, but there was something more -

Making a quick decision, Kenma flipped, crawling along the ceiling until he could land on top of the china cabinet closest to the door. There was a vent right above it. He disliked going into his full incorporeal form, but he could stand it just long enough to push through the vent.

He’d just dropped onto the top of the china cabinet when the door opened, and the three adults entered into the library. Wide-eyed, Kenma pressed himself as tightly as he could to the top of the china cabinet, thankful for the shadows and the tall wooden moulding around the rim.

From the sound of their conversation, it seemed that his guess was right. These weren’t just ordinary adults.

Just who had the woman invited into her house?

~~~~~~~

Kuroo suppressed a growl as he peered up through the vent in the floor.

“Ghost hunters.” That was what the boy had called them. Kuroo wasn’t really sure what that was supposed to be, or why they’d even be here. There weren’t any ghosts in the house, he knew that.

Meddlers, that’s what they were. Meddlers who needed to stop touching Nekomata’s things.

One of them was off exploring the house - Akaashi, Kuroo thought his name was. When the two strangers had arrived Kuroo had pressed himself close to the opening in the front wall near the steps, watching the two new humans carefully. There wasn’t a good place to catch everything said in the living room, but he’d tried to listen to their conversation there as well.

Something about them unsettled him. Maybe it was the way the one with the funny hair talked to the boy, with a huge smile on his face. He reminded Kuroo of a bird. A big, loud, fluffy bird. A bird that Kuroo wanted to pounce on.

Except the bird might be too big and fluffy.

Well, whatever he was, he was way too free with his hands.

Kuroo crouched, tail swishing back and forth as the birdman bent to the side, inspecting Nekomata’s books. He touched the gap where Kuroo had recently borrowed a book on haunting - one of a small series of books published by an obscure author in the 1970s, some supposed expert in the field. Kuroo thought it was pretty boring, all things considered.

He was pretty sure the author had been a friend of Nekomata’s. It was the only reason he could think of why his master had even owned the books. They certainly weren’t of the same caliber as most of the others in his collection.

Holding back a hiss Kuroo watched as the man moved, tugging out one of Kuroo’s favorite books, a thin volume bound in red leather with fading gilt edging the pages. It wasn’t really anything of consequence. Just the memoir of a woman who’d spent a summer on one of the islands learning to dance with the priestesses there, learning their rituals for honoring the dead. It wasn’t even a treatise on the supernatural really. Kuroo just liked the descriptions of the ocean.

He’d never been to see the ocean.

He figured he never would see it.

But her descriptions were vivid, and reminded him of his birthday when Nekomata had taken over the pond in the backyard and used it to tell the story of how Japan came to be. Even the koi had watched, clustered together in the small underwater cave beneath the waterfall.

Kuroo had loved the water, the idea of it stretching as far as the eye could see and then farther. Nekomata hadn’t quite anticipated his reaction. It had prompted him to show the red-bound book to Kuroo, even though quite a few of the Kanji inside were above his level. He’d read it again and again over the years, gaining more familiarity with the characters and readings as he grew older, slowly coming to appreciate the subtle puns the author wove into her prose.

And now this stinking birdbrain had his hands all over it. It made Kuroo so mad he just wanted to -

Sneeze.

Kuroo froze, watching as the man above looked away from the book as if trying to find the location of the sound. Swiftly Kuroo closed his eyes, thankful that black fur in the darkness beneath the house should make him invisible. It still felt like the man was looking, though. But he couldn’t see Kuroo. That would make no sense. He shouldn’t be able to see him. The man was only a human. Just another human invading their house, touching their things.

He wanted to open his eyes and see if the human had moved, but was too worried his golden eyes would show up in the darkness. The moment seemed to stretch on for forever. Footsteps came closer to the vent. It was impossible. He couldn’t see. It didn’t matter if he did see, really, technically Kuroo was outside the house -

A strange bird hooted in the room above.

The man pulled a phone out of his pocket. “Yes? Ah, nope! Sorry! Wrong number! Oh, are you sure?”

Kuroo exhaled, crawling swiftly away from the vent while the man was distracted.

He really, really, hated all the strangers in his home.


	6. Confrontations and Confusion

Kenma breathed a sigh of relief.

He’d escaped. The two humans had become so engrossed in their own conversation that he’d felt safe enough to go incorporeal and drift into the vent, flowing up to the second floor without going solid because he was worried that they might hear him.

He shouldn’t be worried they would hear him. They were supposed to be spooking the humans out of the house, after all. These two new ones made him really uncomfortable, however, though he wasn’t quite sure why. They didn’t seem threatening, exactly. Shouyou had liked the one with the strange hair. 

Was he jealous?

Kenma scowled at himself internally, dismissing the notion. He didn’t get jealous. Kuroo got jealous. Kuroo got jealous of Daishou, which was preposterous. Kuroo got jealous of Kuguri, of all people, just because Kuguri had introduced Kenma to apple pie and the concept of money. Kenma didn’t get jealous.

Of course, that didn’t explain why he found himself in cat form rolling around on Shouyou’s bed. Huffing at himself, he nosed under the pillows at the top of the unmade bed, trying to analyze exactly when he’d gotten so comfortable with the child’s scent in his home. True, there was something about it that reminded him of Nekomata. Some hint of something more that other humans didn’t have - or maybe a lack of the smoky aftertaste their scent left in the back of his throat. Even Shouyou’s mother had that scent, faintly. Not Shouyou, though. Not -

Footsteps echoed down the hall and entered the room. Kenma twisted, eyes wide. It was the dark-haired man. It was scanning the room. It wouldn’t see him. It couldn’t see him. It was only human, it’d already looked at the bed -

Their eyes met.

Kenma sucked in a breath, instinctively trying to push himself into the corner between the headboard and the wall. He willed himself to become invisible. This human shouldn’t see him. This human with grey-green eyes should look right past him. Instead it was reaching out towards him, voice low and oddly mesmerizing as it tried to coax him to come closer. 

It reminded him of an older memory, of another hand reaching out to him, one he associated with comfort and warmth. The dissonance between that moment and his current fear just intensified the feeling of unease in his gut, and he couldn’t help his tail lashing from side to side in the tight space he’d crammed himself into. He wasn’t sure if the human felt wrong or right, he just knew that it made him feel more than what he’d felt by being in Hinata’s company, and that made him extremely uncomfortable.

That, along with the fact that if the human wanted, it could reach out and touch him.

When the man straightened up, Kenma made his move. Frantically he pushed off and slid around the human’s torso, a shock running through his fur as he brushed against it. He was out and diving into the girl’s bedroom in a flash, pushing himself into the vent they’d opened underneath her bed and clambering up to the attic without caring about the noise he made. Once there he just dove underneath the blankets. He curled up in a ball, trying to figure out why the man bothered him so much.

It wasn’t just simple dislike.

It wasn’t just simple dislike, or fear.

It was something more. Fear, yes, but also a strange curiosity, a need to -

A need to know. To understand. To figure out for himself just exactly what was going on.

Slowly he poked his nose out from the covers. Hiding would get him nowhere. He was fine. He was safe.

Kuroo was climbing out of the vent, shaking the dust from his fur as Kenma stalked towards him. 

“Kenma?” he asked, looking surprised. “Where are you -”

“The humans,” Kenma growled out, huffing as Kuroo started nosing at him. If he let Kuroo stop him he’d never work up the courage again.

“But - you smell like - are you ok? Why do you smell like cinnamon?”

“I’m going to go spy on them. That’s the word, right? Spy?” Kenma asked, tail swishing in agitation. 

Kuroo looked at him, whiskers creasing in worry. “But -”

“Come with me? We have to know, Kuro. They aren’t like the other humans. I think - I think these humans are dangerous.”

Looking at him a long moment, Kuroo just sighed.

Kenma tried to hide his nerves as they traveled down through the vents. He was slipping in and out of corporeal form, part of his spirit wrapping around Kuroo for comfort. Kuroo didn’t mind. He just kept nuzzling Kenma’s body, making soft noises like he wanted to speak, wanted to dissuade Kenma from doing this - but he wouldn’t.

The humans were in the library again. They were speaking so low that Kenma couldn’t make out the words. Glancing back at Kuroo for luck, Kenma slid through the vents, leaving part of himself behind with Kuroo. In the end it was only his head and front paws that took on bodily shape, enough for him to gain the advantage of physical senses as he peered down over the edge of the cabinet. The one with weird hair was running a hand over the other one’s shoulder. Keiji, he heard him say. That was a man’s name, right? 

Then the dark-haired man answered the phone, and gave his name as Akaashi as he started to speak. For a moment, Kenma forgot why he was watching. Instead, he got caught up in his own curiosity. Nothing about the two of them seemed dangerous to his instincts.

Then the green-eyed man glanced up, and saw him again. 

Kenma blinked, glad he’d anchored himself to Kuroo. He used that to slip fully incorporeal, pulling himself back through the grate and coiling around Kuroo. The man had seen him again. Was his control slipping, or did he subconsciously want the man to see him? He felt shocked, thankful that for the moment he didn’t have a heart to pound.

“What is it, Kenma?” Kuroo murmured, backing them away from the vent.

“Shh,” Kenma said, uncurling himself and watching as a fine-boned hand curled around the top of the china cabinet, followed by a head with dark-green eyes.

“What is it? Did you see one?” a voice from the room called out, a little too loud and excited to be the man in front of him.

Akaashi - if the man’s name was Akaashi - paused a moment, then sighed, dropping away. “It’s probably nothing, Bokuto-san,” he said. “After all, you didn’t see anything, did you?”

“Awww, but Akaashi! What if things have changed? What if you can see this spirit? What if he likes you!”

Kenma made a face at that.

“I’m not sure that’s how it works, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said. “That was the library on the phone, though. I think they may have some information about the history of the house. Perhaps it would be more useful for us if you continued exploring the house, and I go check there? If there is a spirit here, I’m sure you’re much more likely to see it.”

Kenma frowned, letting Kuroo push him forward away from the vent and down to the opening beneath the house.

“I don’t like it,” Kuroo said. “Did you hear that? I knew that birdman was strange. He can see spirits, Kenma.”

Kenma shrugged, trying to process the information.

“We should just stay hidden. Or maybe we can go stay in the forest for a few days. Do you think? Maybe if they don’t find us here, they’ll just go away, and we can come back. I mean, that would mean having to put up with Daishou, but -”

“I’m going to follow him,” Kenma said.

“What?”

“The man. Akaashi. He’s going to the library. I have some clothes down here, and I know where the library is. I’m going to follow him, see what he says to people.”

They didn’t know for sure why the men were there after all. It was possible that they weren’t bad. Just because they could see spirits, that didn’t mean they were bad. Plus, the man had tried to be gentle -

But he was still suspicious.

“Kenma!” Kuroo said, “We -”

“We can’t just abandon this house, Kuro,” Kenma said, peering at Kuroo’s face. The moment he saw the other cat’s whiskers droop, Kenma knew he’d won. As recompense, he moved forward, nuzzling his head against Kuroo’s neck. “I’ll be safe, I promise. I’ve gone into the human place hundreds of times, you know that. I’ll be safe.”

“I don’t like it,” Kuroo growled. It was a soft growl, though, and he was nuzzling Kenma back.

Of course he wouldn’t like it. He never liked it when Kenma went into town.

But this time t was the only way they’d learn more about these strange humans, Akaashi and Bokuto.

Not that Kenma was hoping for much. He was pretty sure the two humans would end up being nothing but trouble.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Kuroo was not sulking.

That was not why he was up in the attic staring at the window towards the forest. He was not worried about Kenma. He was not getting onto himself because he should be the brave one, he should be the one going into town after the humans instead of letting Kenma do it.

He should be protecting Kenma. 

He let his hands splay out on the glass, slowly leaning forward to rest his forehead against the cool surface. Kenma was already gone. He’d walked past the forest already; had probably talked to Kuguri before starting to travel. Kenma was good at traveling. Better than Kuroo, who didn’t like the jumpy feeling from stepping on one point and then shifting through space to reach the next footfall. It felt strange to him, unnatural, even if Nekomata had taught it to them. It wasn’t like shifting from one form to the next.

If Kenma needed him, could he even get there in time?

He should’ve gone with him.

Nope, nope, nope, he was not fretting about this. 

A gasp behind him made him freeze.

“You’re naked!”

Kuroo opened his eyes wide, slowly turning to look at the human behind him. How the hell - the door was supposed to be locked! He’d double-checked after that stupid redhead had figured out a way up! He wasn’t supposed to have an invading bird-brained human standing at the entrance to their room, gaping at him!

But there he was.

Huffing, Kuroo put a hand on his hip and turned all the way around. “No I’m not. I’m in full kamishimo and eboshi, thank you very much,” Kuroo answered, pulling the names of random pieces of clothing from memory. 

“Eh?” the man said. “Why would you wear those together?”

“Why wouldn’t I - I can wear what I want!”

“Well, I guess, but wouldn’t you - and hey! You aren’t wearing anything at all!”

“Maybe I am and you just can’t see it because you’re a bird brain!”

“Hey! I am not a bird brain! And you are naked, I can see your penis!”

“And you’re more concerned with my penis than the fact that I have ears and a tail? What kind of human are you!”

“I’m a -” the man started, then paused, cocking his head to the side with a little frown. “And well, it makes perfect sense for you to have ears and a tail if you’re a bakeneko.”

Now it was Kuroo’s turn to be dumbfounded. “I - wha -”

“And that’s what you are, right? I mean, Akaashi saw you earlier - though why he could see you I don’t know - do you like him? He said that things didn’t work like that, but -”

The human thought that he was Kenma. The human didn’t know -

And well, Kuroo wasn’t about to tell him.

Frowning, he started to stalk forward. “Yes, I’m a bakeneko. That means I’m evil, right? You should be scared of me, right? So you should get out of my house before I do big evil things to you!” he said, huffing a bit as he got close to the human.

Unfortunately, the man didn’t seem phased one bit. He just tilted his head to the side, frowning slightly. Was that pity? It couldn’t be pity on the man’s face. Kuroo would die if it was pity.

“You aren’t evil though, are you?” the man said gently. “I talked with the woman, and she said you hadn’t done anything to really hurt anyone. You didn’t even destroy the little girl’s clothes, just messed them up. And the boy said you were friendly.”

Every word the man spoke made Kuroo feel smaller and smaller. He looked away, tail wrapping tightly around his leg. 

“And I’m sorry,” the human continued, “but this isn’t your house anymore. You’re going to have to find a new house. The people living here - well - I don’t know what you did, but it really frightened the little girl, and they won’t be comfortable with you here. You’re going to need to find someplace new.”

Wasn’t that such a human thing to do. To come in and take over a place, claim it as theirs, kick people out -

“It’s not theirs!” Kuroo said. “It’s ours! He promised, Neko -”

“Neko?” the man asked, looking puzzled, eyes widening as if he’d come to some realization. “Do you mean -”

Kuroo was too angry for words now, though. He’d already given away too much. Humans. Stupid humans. There had only ever been one good human in the entire race, and even he had abandoned them. “Stupid -” he said, lashing out with a hand before turning and twisting in air, shifting to black cat as he dove into the opening for the vent. His home. This was his home, his and Kenma’s. His and Kenma’s and Nekomata’s.

But they were going to lose it, lose it all, and just because of stupid humans.

Racing down he crawled out into the space under the house, curling up and licking his paw, angry.

Angry at himself.

Because it wasn’t just because of the human’s that they were going to lose their house - it was because he was too weak.

Even when face to face with the human, a human he knew was weaker than he was, he hadn’t been able to really fight back.

Not enough. It wouldn’t be enough.

Because he knew, even in the midst of his anger, that he hadn’t even been able to bring himself to scratch that stupid human’s paper-thin skin.

~~~~~~~

It felt very strange to be fully human. Human ears were weirdly shaped, and the lack of a tail always threw Kenma just a little bit off balance. Sometimes children would point and yell about his hair, too. Not too often, thankfully. Most of the local kids had seen him more than once over the years. Kuguri lured him out to the bakery fairly regularly, especially in winter. They’d even explored one of the village festivals once, though things had almost turned disastrous when both Kuroo and Daishou showed up. 

Kenma didn’t really talk to any of the humans in the village. Kuguri sometimes talked to the priest at the temple, who seemed to accept both of them fairly well. The foxes at the entrance didn’t like Kenma much - and especially didn’t like Kuroo - but that was more prejudice on their part than anything else. They let them pass into the temple just fine to make small offerings, and that was what needed. 

The old superstitious people in the village probably had an idea what he was, but they didn’t cause a fuss. Being seen in the temple was enough to prove that they weren’t evil spirits, and that was enough. The younger adults probably thought they were just from the next village. Maybe they thought something like the truth - that Kuguri and Kenma lived out in the country and sometimes came into town as a distraction. 

Kenma needed that distraction now.

He’d found Akaashi’s car parked a few blocks away from the library. Parking was limited here. Kenma thought it was probably because the shop owners wanted to funnel more foot traffic by their stores. People here were used to walking everywhere anyhow. 

There were enough people on the sidewalks that Kenma didn’t feel too conspicuous following Akaashi, but he still worried. He clutched a game that he’d found lying in the yard before he left. It was Shouyou’s, of course, so he’d have to keep it safe. Running his fingers over the grooves in the grey plastic he glanced up, checking to make sure Akaashi was still in front of him. 

He wasn’t there.

Kenma froze, glancing into the shop window next to him then back behind, wondering how he could’ve lost the human. When he turned back around, Akaashi was stepping out of an alleyway not more than 10 feet in front of him. 

He was looking straight at him.

Their eyes met.

Instantly Kenma turned and ran away, not listening to the voice in the back of his head saying that this was foolish behavior, that there was no way that Akaashi would know he was anything other than a human boy, that he shouldn’t be so scared. It didn’t matter. He was terrified. 

He ran all the way to the small park that housed a tiny shrine near the center of town, curling up out of sight behind a grove of trees as he tried to catch his breath.

It was only after he’d calmed down enough to count to ten that he realized that somewhere in all the confusion he’d dropped the game.


	7. Hope, Love and Memory (E)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the other chapter with smut - it's in the last scene, from Kuroo's perspective. 
> 
> (Also, more of Cel's lovely art)

The house was empty, now.

Kuroo figured he might have felt at least a little bit of triumph. The man had left, the Hinata family was gone, he had the house to himself. As he wandered from room to room though, all he felt was sadness.

The man’s words kept echoing in his ears. ‘This isn’t your house anymore.’

He wanted to yell at that, scream and fight the truth of it. But the truth was that it didn’t feel like their house anymore - well, not the way it used to. They’d been reduced to crawling around in the vents. All of the rooms on the second floor had been taken over by the humans. Human clothes, human smells, human electronics. All the futons were put away in the storage building. Kuroo figured that soon, even the library would be cleared out. 

The attic was theirs, but now the humans had even figured out how to invade that space. What was left? He could fight back, he supposed. Be as mean and scary as he knew he could be if he tried. But the little girl was sweet, and Kenma liked the boy, and, well. 

The man hadn’t been scared of him at all. Truth be told, he’d reminded Kuroo a little bit of Nekomata - not personality-wise, no. But there was a look in his eye, something that other humans didn’t have. A knowledge. And the way he’d just stood there, trusting that Kuroo wouldn’t hurt him - Kuroo wasn’t sure what to make of it.

As he rounded the stairs onto the second floor he saw Kenma out of the corner of his eye. “I’m glad you’re back. We need to talk about - huh?”

When he looked, no one was there. There was just the mirror at the end of the hall, a long black cloth wadded up on the floor beneath it. No Kenma, though. Just a reflection of the hall, himself, and the window beyond.

He felt chills again. That was the second time he’d thought he’d seen something. Foolish though, right? 

The only spirits in the house were Kenma and him.

And whatever had scared the girl - but she’d probably made a mistake. Humans, jumping at every breeze and calling it a ghost.

Right?

~~~~~~~~~~

The best thing about libraries were that they were quiet. No loud talking. No schoolgirls giggling together at tables. No children racing through the aisles. 

The worst thing, though, was the people. At least right now.

He hadn’t spent a lot of time in the library over the years. For one, he wasn’t really into books - well, not the way Kuroo was. He didn’t feel like talking to any of the people who worked there. Plus, if he wanted a book, there were plenty back home.

Still, he was determined to figure out more about this Akaashi person. 

Determined - except that Akaashi was sitting quietly at one of a series of boxlike machines that ran along one wall, all out in the open, scrolling through some things on a screen. He’d talked briefly with a librarian earlier. Kenma hadn’t been able to get close to them for fear that Akaashi would recognize him, and he didn’t want to stay out in the open. It felt like too many people were watching him. 

At first, he’d hung around the edges of the stacks, trying to keep an eye on what Akaashi was doing. That got boring though. And while reading books wasn’t interesting, examining all the titles and bindings and colors was. That was why he found himself wandering further and further from the main seating area instead of sticking around to watch.

It was the section on ghost stories that made him pause. He knew the name on the spines of these books.

Sighing he ran his finger over the kanji that spelled out Nekomata’s name. He knew this book. Nekomata had read it to them on some nights, stories about women and wells and lovers crossing ponds in boats on moonlit nights. Stories of betrayal and anger. Humans were strange.

Another of the books contained stories about spirits, though Nekomata was always sure to fudge some details if the tales involved the spirits that lived near his home. Kenma also knew that they were gentler than some of yokai Nekomata had encountered over the years. Kenma remembered the moment when he’d realized that really, he was one of those creatures - but at the same time, he wasn’t. He and Kuroo were middle-ground spirits. They’d never be the fierce and terrifying bakeneko of some of the stories, the ones who were truly evil and worked to destroy any humans who crossed their paths.

Still, Kenma didn’t consider that a bad thing.

It was all because of Nekomata. Suddenly, Kenma missed him fiercely. Swallowing, he lay a hand flat against the spine of one of the books, wondering if his master had ever touched this particular copy.

“Ah,” said a voice from behind him, “I don’t mean to startle you, but I think you dropped this?”

Kenma froze, willing his ears not to pop out because that would be disastrous. Doubly disastrous, because he knew that voice.

Slowly he turned around. The man was just a few feet away, holding out the game in a way that reminded Kenma of the way he’d held out his hand to him at the house. When Kenma had been a cat.

He didn’t see any recognition in Akaashi’s eyes though, other than recognition of him from earlier. Sucking in a breath he reached out and took the game from Akaashi’s fingertips, bowing politely before slipping it into his pocket. “Thank you,” he said, keeping his eyes on the ground. Would Akaashi know he was a yokai? Would he know Kenma was the cat he’d seen earlier?

He could feel his ears and tail trying to manifest in response to his nervousness, and concentrated on keeping hold of his form. Should he say something else? Maybe apologise for running away earlier? 

“Sorry I surprised you earlier,” Akaashi said, stepping back and letting his hands fall to the side. “I thought - well, it doesn’t matter.”

It did matter, but not enough for Kenma to say something. Instead he just nodded and stepped back a bit, aware that running away at this point would be a bad move on his part.

Akaashi stepped into the space he left behind, reaching out to touch the books on the shelf. “Nekomata, hmm? I was looking for this myself. He was a local author, right? Did you know him?”

Kenma glanced up, suspicious of the words until he saw that Akaashi’s face was clear of guile. A thought occurred to him. What if Akaashi thought he was just what he appeared - a human, what. Boy? Man? Kenma didn’t even know how old he’d look to human eyes. But maybe Akaashi thought he was just another local.

Turning back to the shelf Kenma nodded. “He was kind,” he murmured, wanting to touch the books again but not wanting to get that close to Akaashi.

“I see,” Akaashi said, pulling out one of the books and flipping it open. “I think I may have read some of his work before. I teach folklore, you see. At a university.”

“Ah,” Kenma said. With Akaashi’s attention on the book he was able to look him over more thoroughly. There was a charm around his neck that shone when he looked at it, even through the cloth of Akaashi’s shirt. It was a beacon and a warning. A holy symbol. To Kenma, it meant that Akaashi was good - or at least, what passed for good in human circles. Still, it was more reassurance. “He’d tell us stories sometimes. Me and my friends.”

“These stories?” Akaashi asked, looking surprised.

Kenma shrugged.

“But you must’ve been - well. Younger, then,” Akaashi mused. “Do you know anything about what happened to him?”

Looking down, Kenma shook his head. “One day, he was just gone.” It was such a simple statement, but it hurt. It was the first time that he realized that Nekomata’s absence made him lonely - for what, he didn’t know. He had Kuroo, and Kuguri, and some of the others if the season permitted and he chose to spend time with them - but none of them were like Nekomata. 

No one ever would be.

Akaashi was watching him, he realized. When he glanced up, the grey-green eyes were kind, solemn. “I’m sorry for your loss. I can tell he was important to you.”

“Thank you,” Kenma said, ducking his head and sticking his hands in his pockets. He was tired, suddenly. It didn’t help that Akaashi was thoughtful and seemed to be gentle. It confused him. In some ways it made him even more sad, because he couldn’t find it in him to be angry right now.

He just wanted to leave.

Akaashi opened his mouth and then paused, sucking in a breath through his teeth. “Ah. Well. It was nice to meet you, though I’m sorry if I took up too much of your time. I’m Akaashi, by the way.”

Names. What name was he supposed to give? Humans did that, exchanged names like that. Other than Shouyou, Kenma hadn’t given his name to anyone in years. Though that hadn’t turned out too badly, thus far.

In the end, he decided to go with the name that Kuroo had given him years ago, when they’d learned from Nekomata that people had both family and personal names. Kuroo’s had been easy, and he’d loved it so much he used it more than his personal name. Kenma preferred the name that Nekomata had called him, but he could give the family name to this man. “Kozume,” he murmured.

“What?”

“Kozume.”

There was a pause. Kenma glanced up, worried that the name was strange suddenly, that it wouldn’t be a real human name and Akaashi would know what he was or think he was giving a false name. Instead, he had the book open to the front and was staring down at the page. “Ah,” Akaashi finally said.

“Hmm?” Kenma replied, tilting his head to try and see what he was looking at.

“To Kozume and Kuroo, who bring me the joy of spring in the winter of my life.”

Kenma recoiled in shock. He’d never read the inscription in the book, and Kuroo hadn’t ever said anything. 

“You didn’t know?”

Mutely, Kenma shook his head, turning away again. “I have to go,” he mumbled.

“Take care, Kozume-san,” Akaashi said.

Kenma nodded and fled, rushing out of the library as fast as he could. He wanted to be back home. He wanted his Kuro.

He wanted Nekomata back, and knowing that was never going to happen hurt like the wound was freshly made.

~~~~~~~~~

Kuroo was curled up on the porch outside the garden room, trying to regain a sense of peace. He’d covered the mirror in the hallway with the cloth that had fallen to the floor. Superstitious he knew - why in the world should a bakeneko need to be superstitious? - but he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something as wrong, and had been getting worse the whole time the humans had been there.

He’d pulled his favorite red and black blanket out of the attic and was nosing into it, inhaling the scent of Kenma. His Kenma. The real Kenma, not some illusion that might or might not have shown up in a mirror in the house. 

Then the real Kenma appeared, nose and whiskers pushing through one of the bushes in the garden. He had something grey in his mouth but he dropped it before running over to Kuroo, snuggling close. He smelled like human. Too much human. Human and sadness and fear, and so Kuroo just started grooming him, wanting to get it all off and away. Kenma submitted for a few moments, nuzzling back, before shifting into his usual form and pulling Kuroo close. Kuroo followed suit, for once not caring that the snakes could see his Kenma naked like this. Right now, he didn’t care about anything but being with his beloved.

  
“I don't know how to fix it, Kenma,” he mumbled, nuzzling Kenma’s neck and pulling him close. “I wish I could, but I don’t know what to do. They’re just so -”

“I know,” Kenma whispered.

Kuroo pulled back, running fingers through his lover’s bicolored hair, hating the look of pain on his face. It hit him hard, to see Kenma so sad. He was a failure as a lover. A failure as a protector, as a friend, as everything. He couldn’t even fight off one measly human, not now, not when it counted. “I’ll do better,” he said. “I’ll figure something out. I’ll just -”

“Kuro.”

The tone of Kenma’s voice was soft, but serious. Kuroo felt an inexplicable calm come over him as he stared into Kenma’s golden eyes, feeling the fullness of Kenma’s love for him. Love, and determination, and strength. 

“No matter what happens,” Kenma said, “we will have each other. You are my home, more than any house could ever be, even this one.”

Stunned, Kuroo just looked at him for a few moments, unable to find the words. Then he opened his mouth and said, “Have you been reading my romance novels while I wasn’t looking?”

Growling, Kenma pulled back and punched him in the chest.

Kuroo pulled in a breath to say something, but was cut off by a pair of lips pressed against his own, hot and insistent and demanding. Kenma’s hands were grasping at his hair, holding him tight, reminding him that though the other might manifest as smaller he was at least as strong as Kuroo himself.

Strong enough to be Kuroo’s partner, in fullness and in truth.

Strong enough that sometimes he could carry the burden as well.

Kuroo gave himself into the kiss, whimpering a bit as Kenma pushed him down onto his back. Hands slid down his body. Kenma’s mouth was moving, kissing, biting, tasting. Kuroo gasped, losing himself in the whirlwind of sensation was he stared past the awning and into the evening sky above. They’d made love out here before, but this felt different. There was a desperation in Kenma’s sounds, in the harshness of his bites. He left behind marks that throbbed, scratches that made Kuroo feel surrounded, wrapped up in his love.

“You are my home,” Kenma growled out, then pushed at Kuroo. “Turn over.”

“Kenma?” Kuroo asked, surprised when he heard a crash inside the house. Kenma was reaching out, one hand splayed against the small of Kuroo’s back. A jar slid across the tatami floor and through the open doors onto the porch. “Kenma, I -”

“Mine,” Kenma said, leaning down and biting at the back of Kuroo’s neck as one hand slid tight around the base of his tail. “And I will take care of you. At least as much as you take care of me.”

Kuroo just mewled, closing his eyes as he heard the jar open and felt Kenma’s hands leave his back. When they came back they were sticky with cream and pressed against his skin, grasping the muscles underneath and pushing against them hard. Kuroo moaned.

It had been so long since Kenma had given him a massage. Kuroo loved it when Kenma got rough, actually, though even now he could feel the heat slipping away into his lover’s carefully practiced precision. Fingers that knew his body better than he ever would rubbed against the knots in his muscles unmercifully, demanding that they submit and unravel. Unravel they did.

Kuroo got lost in the rhythm of Kenma’s hands. He was melting away, purring softly, eyes closing as he slid into a half doze. He wanted forever like this. Here on their porch, looking out over their garden. Kenma moved to straddle him, their tails intertwining as he pressed his weight into Kuroo’s lower back. The smell of the sticky salve Kenma used for massages overpowered the light scents of the garden plants, but Kuroo didn’t mind. Kenma was surrounding him. This, right here, was home.

Kenma moved, sitting back on Kuroo’s knees and pulling his tail up and out of the way. 

“Kenma -” Kuroo started.

“Hush,” Kenma said, one hand lightly smacking Kuroo’s ass. “Taking care of you, remember?”

Kuroo sighed. 

The touches became more sensual. How Kenma was so good at this Kuroo didn’t know. He’d always been good. Maybe it was because this was another form of petting, just more sensuous than pets from anyone else ever were. Kuroo pushed his hips up into Kenma’s kneading hands, loving the way his lover’s strong fingers pulled at the cheeks of his ass, opening him up and then pushing the cheeks back together again. He mewled, thankful when Kenma shifted to kneel between his legs, letting him spread wide. Kenma’s fingers traced down beneath his tail, one hand wrapping around the base of it and tugging up, making Kuroo tilt his hips to give his lover better access. He would give Kenma anything. All of himself, all that he was, all of his moans and mewls and cries. This was them, this was theirs and -

Kenma’s finger pushed against his rim, wiggling and tugging at the tight ring of flesh. It was slick with the salve. They’d used it before. It was different from the lube in the attic, but Kuroo liked that. The salve was like an extension of Kenma’s spirit and here he was pushing it inside, breaching Kuroo’s body with a fingertip, urging him to relax as he continued the massage he’d started on the muscles of Kuroo’s back.

Sighing, Kuroo closed his eyes, sinking into the feeling. One finger became two, twisting and rubbing at all the perfect spots to both relax him and stoke his desire. Two became three, a slight burn soothed by the healing properties of the salve and the soft murmurs of encouragement that fell from Kenma’s lips. 

“More,” Kuroo breathed out. He wasn’t sure what he meant by that. He didn’t know if he wanted more fingers, wanted Kenma to finish and open him up as far as he could go, make Kuroo lose hold of what being in one body truly meant. He sometimes had trouble keeping himself together like that but even then Kenma would pursue him, shifting into spirit to follow him and wrap him up so tightly that Kuroo lost track of where he ended and the other began. 

Instead of pressing in deeper, however, the fingers withdrew, making Kuroo whine from loss of contact.

“Don’t worry, Kuro,” Kenma breathed out, leaning over to kiss him on the shoulder blade. “I’ve got you.”

Exhaling Kuroo lifted his hips, pressing open to welcome the tip of Kenma’s cock as it pushed inside. It was perfect, perfect, perfect.

Kenma sighed, covering Kuroo’s spine with kisses. “Home,” he murmured, sliding in deep and laying his body over Kuroo’s back. For a moment he just stayed there. His hands curled over Kuroo’s skin, shifting and spreading the salve around to new parts of Kuroo’s body. Kuroo imagined he could feel Kenma’s heartbeat through his chest. They were one being, tied together like this, sharing breath and blood and memory. 

“Home,” Kuroo agreed.

He was rewarded by Kenma pulling out only to slide back in again, a slow and steady rhythm that matched the sound of the insects in the trees. Kuroo felt the heat of sex bring sweat to his skin, felt the evening breeze caress him, smelled the scents of salve and flower and earth and surrounding it all the scent that was uniquely Kenma.

“I’ve got you,” Kenma murmured, shifting position to let air slide between their bodies. “I’ve got you, Kuro, just let go.”

He sped up, pulling at Kuroo’s hips, hands pressing down against Kuroo’s back. Kuroo let his legs slide open wider on the blanket-covered wood, keening as Kenma’s cock started to hit that place inside him that always made him feel so incredible. More, he wanted more, he wanted everything.

He let his tail lash to the side, crying out as Kenma grabbed the base with one hand, the other shifting up to curl around Kuroo’s waist. Words dripped from Kenma’s mouth. Some were formless, some mumbled appreciations of Kuroo’s body, his tightness, his heat. This angle let Kenma watch himself slide deeper and deeper into Kuroo’s ass. That thought alone pulled layers away from Kuroo’s control, almost faster than the ones lost with each tug of his tail, each insistent push of Kenma’s cock against his prostate inside. He was unravelling, falling to pieces, barely keeping hold on his physical body. It felt like with every push Kenma was reaching deeper and deeper inside. A brush of fur against his cock made Kuroo gasp.

Kenma’s tail, feather light and so so soft. Too soft, soft in a way that made Kuroo cry out until Kenma’s hand wrapped around his length, pressing the softness to him. Kenma was getting his tail dirty for him. It was almost too much to bear.

“My Kuro,” Kenma murmured. “My beautiful, beautiful Kuro, black as night, Tetsurou...”

His name, his name. The one only Kenma held now, only Kenma used, and only in times like these, when Kuroo was already laid so bare that the last lock could be opened with the word. Kuroo almost sobbed at the depth of the love he felt for the man behind him. The man who had him, held him, loved him with all that he was.

“Let go, Tetsurou. Let go for me.”

So he did.

Light and life exploded from within him, reaching out into the depths of twilight. But Kenma was there, spirit wrapped around his, keeping him whole, keeping him safe. Pleasure doubled and rebounded in the bubble that Kenma had trapped him in, pulling sounds to escape where nothing else could. He was beyond caring.

This was love. This was good. This was life.

He barely felt it as Kenma laid him gently down on the blanket, pulling it over them to guard against the chill of the night air. 

“Love,” Kuroo finally said, feeling Kenma’s arms tighten around him.

“Always,” Kenma agreed, sliding a leg over Kuroo’s and nuzzling the back of his neck. “Always and forever.”

They’d be okay.

Whatever happened, they’d face it together.

And it would be okay.


	8. Check

The next morning Kenma left the house early, slipping out before any of their uninvited guests arrived. Kuroo was sleeping happily in the attic and probably would for the next several hours. None of the snakes were out and about, though Kenma smelled the scent of sex near the fence as he padded into the forest. He wondered if his activities with Kuroo the night before had been inspiring for some of their friends.

Whiskers twitching into a smirk, he continued along his way. It wouldn’t’ve been the first time.

And hopefully, he thought, it wouldn’t be the last.

That thought sobered him. Not the thought that their serpentine voyeurs would have to fend for themselves, of course. He could care less, and goodness knew that Daishou didn’t need much of an excuse for sex, at least to hear Kuguri tell it. But if they couldn’t figure out a way to stay in the house, then it really could be the last time.

Frowning to himself Kenma slipped through the forest and into the neighborhoods on the outskirts of the village. The first house was low and old. A small plate of leftover fish had been set out on the stoop by the old woman who lived there. Nibbling at it delicately, Kenma listened to her sing in her backyard.

“Ah, is that you cat-san?” she called out, not pausing from her work pulling the weeds away from her vegetables. “I hope you enjoyed your breakfast! Have a good day!”

Cleaning his whiskers, Kenma hopped down from the back steps, rubbing his face against her sagging wicker fence. Some animal had tried digging a hole in the bottom of it. Maybe a rabbit, by the looks of things. It took almost no effort to fix the nibbled edges, even less to leave his scent on the area so that the animal would get scared away the next time it approached. The fish had been very good, after all. Probably the same thing the woman had eaten for breakfast herself.

The next house was vacant, but the house after that sometimes left a small saucer of milk out for him. When he got there the saucer was there, but empty. Other cats must’ve gotten there first. Annoying, but he didn’t really begrudge them any of it. Some days, he wished they’d actually come up and talk with him. He’d heard that most feral cat established societies. They knew he was different, though. Knew, and kept away, though it didn’t keep them from stealing his milk.

Kenma wondered where Shouyou and his family had gone to. He wandered from house to house, trying to reason out where a family like theirs would stay. Would they still be in the area? Probably, Shouyou had said that they didn’t have a place to go back to. All of their stuff was still in the house as well.

Maybe Shouyou could convince his mom to let them stay. Kenma frowned, finally finding a bowl of untouched milk. An overly sweet odor emanated from it though, making him pause before drinking. Poison. Frowning, he knocked the dish over, carefully stepping around the broken pieces. This house, he determined, held bad people. 

Bad people with a car whose engine would lock up the next time they tried to start it.

Huffing, he continued, worrying at the problem of the Hinatas for a moment before being drawn back to the problem of Akaashi. The man felt good to him. He was gentle, his spirit calm. Kenma wondered for a moment what it would be like to be petted by the hand that had been extended toward him the day before. He wondered if the fingers that had traced the inscription in Nekomata’s book would know how to grasp and rub at the muscles at the back of his neck like his master’s fingers had. Of course, Akaashi was fully human and not actually sensitive - Kenma knew that, even if he’d been lax enough to let himself get seen in Shouyou’s bedroom. Still, he was a special human.

Maybe he could talk to him. Admit what he was, what he and Kuroo both were. See if Akaashi and Bokuto would be willing to negotiate with the Hinatas for them. It was a longshot, and probably wouldn’t work, but maybe.

Just maybe.

His last stop for the day before heading back was another house with a garden. A old blind woman lived there, wheeled out into the shade every morning by her caretaker. She didn’t talk. Kenma remembered her though. Nekomata used to stop here sometimes, taking tea, telling her stories. Kenma wondered if they’d known each other when they were younger. He’d followed Nekomata a few times, watched her expression stay the same as he talked, and wondered why Nekomata made the effort. Sometimes her face would light up, though. Sometimes her fingers would flutter as if reaching for the teacup.

The light was gone now, but that was alright. She sat still as he rubbed against her ankles, jumping up into her lap and settling down.

Occasionally her fingers would move, sliding over his fur in short, shuddering gasps of motion. It wasn’t proper petting, he didn't mind.

No one would bother him here.

  
No one would bother him, and he thought she grieved in her own way, even if she was locked inside a failing body. He wondered if she’d loved Nekomata once. Loved him and never done anything about it. He wondered if there was a love story here, or maybe a tragedy, the type that Kuroo hated reading but read anyway. 

It was possible.

But that story was locked in the past, trapped behind lips that didn’t speak and eyes that didn’t see.

Still, today was a good day. Her hand moved, resting on his side, feeling each breath.

Her story was almost over. He could tell. The body that kept her caged was starting to fail. Soon, he thought, she would find her final rest.

But not yet.

For now, he’d just stay here and feel the weight of her hand against his side. For now, he would think about the human who’d raised him, and try to forget about the ones threatening to tear his life apart.

~~~~~~~~~

When Kuroo first woke up, he thought that perhaps it was going to rain. His fur was standing on edge with static electricity. Sneezing, he nudged his way out from under the blankets and stretched, licking his paws when they got shocked on the floor. Padding over, he jumped up on Kenma’s window seat in the west, looking out the window into a cloudless sky.

He frowned.

He still couldn’t shake this weird prickly feeling in his skin. Maybe if he de-corporealized -

No no no. That was worse. That was so much worse.

Growling, he shook his tail, batting at his nose. There was something strange going on. Flicking his ears back and forth he felt this urge to go lower, so he headed to the vents. The first touch of paw on metal made him shrink back, mewling softly and licking his paw. This was confusing. The stairs, the stairs. He could make it down the stairs.

The door at the bottom of the stairs was open. He didn’t want to think about why, maybe the stupid birdbrain had left it open. Maybe Kenma had left it open the night before. Kuroo didn’t even remember how he’d made it from the porch up into the attic, he’d been that far gone.

Kenma. Where was Kenma?

Not here.

For a moment Kuroo was thankful, if only because he wouldn’t want to subject Kenma to this feeling. It didn’t hurt exactly, but it made him roll his back, kept chasing him down the stairs to the first floor. He wanted to snap at it. It wasn’t physical, just this force. This strange force that was herding him to the library. 

The door was open. Kuroo leapt in, anger making him shift and grow, wanting to destroy whatever was making the world feel so wrong. The dark-haired human had his back to the bookshelves across the room. His eyes were cold and calculating, a light on his chest making Kuroo turn away. There. There was the birdbrain. There was the one who hadn’t been afraid of him, whose golden eyes had seemed so full of pity as he spoke. His hands were at his sides, arms spread like they were trying to placate Kuroo. 

He was saying words but Kuroo couldn’t understand anything past the buzzing in his ears. They were hurting him. If Kenma was here they’d hurt him as well. More words, lower than the buzzing, from the man behind him.

“Not -”

But Kuroo didn’t catch the rest. He raised one paw out of desperation, tail lashing as lights coalesced all around him. Too late he spotted the necklace on the floor. Too late he felt the pull of it, the gravity, pulsing in time with the chanting the two humans fell into as it dragged him down. Smaller, he was growing smaller, twisting as he was surrounded by the cool hardness of lacquer. 

He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t see, he could only feel, and hear.

He remembered suddenly how Nekomata had warned them that it would be dangerous if humans came into the house. This, he thought, was the epitome of danger.

Gravity shifted beneath him in a sickening way, like he was swinging through the air.

“Well,” a man’s voice said, “I guess that’s it.”

“Yes, Bokuto-san,” the other man said.

“I didn’t expect him to be so - wow.”

“I know. You’ve faced down worse, however.”

The man - Bokuto - gave a short laugh. “I know,” he murmured. Kuroo felt like he was being lifted into the air, then felt warmth surrounding him, pressing in against all sides. “I just - I almost feel bad, you know?”

“I know, Bokuto-san. But it’s for the best.”

The pity in the man’s voice was evident. Kuroo wanted to yell at him for being a hypocrite. He felt the tightness around him loosen a moment, and wondered if he’d had some effect.

“Hey, shh,” the man said.

Sensation ran down the edges - was that a finger? He was trapped inside the necklace, and the man was running a finger over the edges? It was so disorienting here in the dark. 

“Don’t worry, buddy,” Bokuto murmured. “It’ll be okay. Shh.”

It wouldn’t be. It was the furthest thing from okay, and once Kuroo figured out how to escape this prison, he’d show the man exactly what not okay really was.

“We should probably try to find the other one, Bokuto-san,” the other man said. 

Fear shot through Kuroo.

“Hmm?”

“As I said, I think you were right about there being two cats. This one is definitely not like the one I saw.”

“Oh,” Bokuto said. “Well, the other one wasn’t in the house, or the trap would’ve pulled him down, I think?”

“Yes,” the other man said. “Well, perhaps he’ll come back. But we should probably get this one into a more stable containment field in the meantime.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Bokuto said. “Sorry buddy, just bear with it. It’ll be more comfortable in a little bit.”

There was nothing else he could do. Nothing but curl up in this prison, pressing against the walls and wishing he could break free. Then there was more chanting, soft murmurs, light caresses pulling him down into darkness.

He didn’t want to go.

He wanted to be free.

He wanted his Kenma. He wanted his home.

He wanted Kenma to stay as far away as possible, so that he would be safe.

~~~~~~~

Kenma jolted awake. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.

He felt an ache like something that he didn’t even know he had was being torn away from him. “Kuroo,” he gasped out, lifting his head and lapping at the woman’s hand in apology before sliding off her lap. Something was wrong with Kuroo. Something -

The humans.

Growling Kenma sprinted through the backyards of the surrounding houses, trying to think. If it was the humans, should he be human when he got there? Shifting he grabbed a shirt from the laundry line behind one house, slipping it on and jumping over the next fence. There were some pants that might fit him - yes. No shoes, but that didn’t matter. He just needed to be there before it was too late.

He sped across the space between him and the house, hoping he was just mistaken. Maybe it was just a barrier that the Bokuto man had thrown up, cutting off some connection that Kenma hadn’t even realized he shared with Kuroo. Maybe it was just some bad dream that he’d had, still lingering in his subconscious. Maybe -

The air was cold.

Kenma stopped, looking around carefully. It looked like there was a curve in front of him where things shifted, became more grey on the other side of the line. Birds were flying from one side to the other with no effect, though. It bisected the rock Kuguri was laying on. Kenma thought about asking him for help, but then he noticed the dark green of Daishou’s scales curled up beneath him, and decided not to bother them.

Instead he reached out, pushing his hand against the barrier. It hurt to touch. It was real.

Sucking in a breath, Kenma followed the line to the front of the house and across the street, trying to get a good look inside. The front door opened and Akaashi stepped out. He was looking back inside the house and holding something in his hand.

Something - 

Kuroo.

Oh -

They’d trapped him. Trapped his spirit.

Akaashi was turning to look at him, surprise on his face. There was the slightest hint of a smile there, a hand raised in greeting while the other hand held a necklace that had Kuroo trapped inside.

Kenma snarled.

The necklace started jumping up Akaashi’s hand, pulling him forward. Kuroo was trapped, but he was still present. Not powerless, at least. With all he had, Kenma wished he knew how to get to him.

A look of surprise crossed Akaashi’s face, then it went still.

He knew. Kenma was sure he knew. It made him sick to his stomach. He’d hoped he could just talk to Akaashi. Explain everything, ask his advice. He’d actually liked the human, but now -

Akaashi turned to say something to the man still inside. Bokuto, the one who seemed to hold such power. Too much power for Kenma to attack head-on, especially as enraged as he felt. If he was going to free Kuroo, he’d have to play it smart.

Giving one last look at the necklace in Akaashi’s hand, Kenma let go of his physical form and went to ground.


	9. False Reflections

“And... there!”

Kuroo tumbled out into physical space and took a breath, hitting the floor with his hands. Air. Blessed air. Light that blinded him for a moment. The feel of tatami under his body. No static pushing him down. Thank -

“You!” Kuroo growled out, vision adjusting enough to see a not-so-welcome face across the room from him.

“Ah,” the birdbrain said. “Now don’t be mad -”

Pushing himself Kuroo rushed at the man. “You birdbrain! What have you done!” he yelled, bouncing back off a soft invisible wall two feet in front of the man in question. He frowned, looking around. He didn’t recognize the room. It was small, with four tatami mats arranged around a center square. In the center of that square sat a leather cord with a lacquered charm hanging from one end. Even now, Kuroo could feel a faint pull towards it.

“Birdbrain?” said an amused voice behind the man.

The man gasped, turning to look at the person in the other room. “Akaashi!” he said.

“It’s just amazing how well he’s gotten to know you in such a short time, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi replied.

“What have you done,” Kuroo repeated, sinking to sit on the floor. He reached forward, poking at the soft barrier in front of him. It was like rubber. He could press in for a while, but it wouldn’t let him through.

“I’m sorry,” Bokuto said, crouching down on the other side of the barrier. “If I knew of another way - but it’s the little girl. She was so scared -”

“We didn’t scare her,” Kuroo murmured, looking down at the ground.

“We?” Bokuto asked.

“Kenma and I - ah -”

Oh no. They’d guessed about Kenma already, he knew, but now he’d confirmed it. 

“Is Kenma the same as Kozume?” Akaashi asked, stepping into the room behind Bokuto.

Kuroo blinked up at him. “How -”

The two humans exchanged a look that Kuroo couldn’t decipher.

“Don’t hurt him!” Kuroo exclaimed.

“We wouldn’t!” replied Bokuto, sounding so offended Kuroo just glared at him. “We wouldn’t - we’re just trying to - wait, did that hurt you?”

Bokuto was looking over at the necklace that still lay in the center of the barrier. Kuroo turned to look at it, then narrowed his eyes at Bokuto. “Of course it hurt. How would you like being squeezed down until you were trapped in something that small? While you were unable to move or see -”

“You moved!” Bokuto said. “Well you made the necklace move. And I didn’t know it would hurt....”

He sounded so sorry, but Kuroo didn’t feel bad for him at all, even when Bokuto gave Akaashi a stricken look. 

If Bokuto really felt bad, he’d set him free. He’d let Kuroo go back to the house. He’d let him be with Kenma.

Akaashi sighed, shrugging as he started to turn away. “We did not mean to cause you any discomfort, Kuroo-san. I assume that is your name,” he said, looking down and pausing. For a moment Kuroo wondered if that was indecision on his face.

Perhaps it was, but it was gone in an instant. Akaashi squared his shoulders. “We need to go get ready, Bokuto-san,” he said. “I still think it’s possible that Kozume-san will come here. It appeared that he was locked out of the house by your barrier, so I think it likely he’ll try to come be with his friend.”

“You’re right,” Bokuto said, looking at Kuroo sheepishly as he got up. “Sorry again. Ah, don’t worry, you’ll be safe in here. We’ll get this all figured out, ok?”

Kuroo just made a face as the man left the room and closed the door. Sighing he leaned forward, resting his head against the barrier. 

“Finally,” said a voice behind him. “I thought they’d never leave.”

“Kenma!” Kuroo said, turning and staring wide-eyed. Kenma was there, stepping out of the dark corners of the strange room. 

In an instant they were wrapped up in each other’s arms, Kuroo pushing his face against the other man’s chest. He had a million things he wanted to say. How awful it had been to be trapped inside the necklace. How he’d been scared he’d never see Kenma again. How scared he was that -

Pushing back with a gasp, he said, “You have to leave! They’ll trap you too. Wait, are you already trapped? Can you get past this barrier?”

“Barrier?” Kenma asked, following Kuroo as he moved to press against the rubbery invisible wall. “Ah.”

Kuroo breathed a sigh of relief as Kenma stepped through it and back, looking at Kuroo thoughtfully.

“I think it’s not so much a barrier,” Kenma said, “as that they’ve bound you to this charm.”

Kuroo watched as the blond moved to squat in front of the necklace, reaching out towards it and then pulling his hand back with a frown. “If I could pick it up, we could probably just move you. Maybe if I picked up the tatami, hmm.”

“But Kenma,” Kuroo said, moving to sit near him, unable to keep himself from running a hand down the other man’s back. “Is it true what Akaashi said? Are you locked out of the house?”

“What?” Kenma murmured, fussing with the edges of the square on which the necklace sat. “Ah, no. I talked to Kuguri about that - you remember, Nekomata taught them more protection magic than he did us. I guess they’re more at risk since they’re out in the open. Anyhow, Daishou recognized the spell and knew the counter, so we took down the barrier.”

“What? Daishou helped?”

“Well, of course,” Kenma said, glancing back, lips twitching. “He’s our friend, after all.”

Kuroo made a face. “Stupid snake.”

Chuckling, Kenma leaned back against him. “He’s not that bad,” he said. “Though, I plan to stick with my cat.”

Kuroo hugged him close and kissed him, reveling in the affection. At least he knew he wasn’t alone, even if he was bound to the necklace. He trusted they would be able to find a way to get him free somehow.

Pulling back from the kiss, Kenma blinked up at him. “Ah, I can’t seem to get it to budge,” he murmured, glancing down at the tatami square with a sigh. “I -”

All of a sudden they heard a loud squawk from the other room.

Frowning, Kenma pushed up and hurried to press an ear to the door, frowning before his eyes widened and he gasped. “Shouyou,” he said, looking at Kuroo.

“What?” asked Kuroo.

“Ah - “ Kenma said, face twisted up in consternation. “Ah, I’ll be back for you. Shouyou’s in trouble. How could we - I don’t know what - I have to go.”

“What?” Kuroo yelled, racing to the edge of his boundary before bouncing back as he watched Kenma rush out the room through one of the cracks in the Shoji walls. “Wait! Kenma!”

The door to the room crashed open. “Kuroo?” Bokuto asked, looking wild-eyed and frazzled.

“Kenma - he -” Kuroo said.

“He captured the boy,” Akaashi said, stepping past Bokuto and into the room, eyes narrowed.

“What? No! He was just here! He was just here trying to rescue me! Then he heard you two in the other room, and -”

A horrible fear started to sink into his brain as he started to put things together.

“But that was Hinata-san on the phone,” Bokuto mumbled. “She said that she saw her son being pulled into the mirror by a guy, a blond.”

“Kozume is blond,” Akaashi said.

“Yeah, but it’s not...” Kuroo started, thinking hard. Fear crystallized into certainty, a million facts crashing together and coalescing into one simple, awful, undeniable truth. “There’s something else in our home.”

~~~~~~~

Dangerous. It would be dangerous if humans moved into the house.

For the first time, Kenma considered the possibility that Nekomata hadn’t meant danger coming from the humans, but danger to the humans. He raced back as fast as he could, pausing outside the house to watch as Shouyou’s mother sat in her car, holding an inconsolably crying Natsu. The woman looked tired. Scared. Determined.

It made Kenma feel sick. 

He slid past the garden gate and in through the door, halting as he exited the library.

The cloth had been pulled away from the mirror in the hall and Kenma saw himself reflected in it. He raised his hand to his head, trying to understand why his hair was so dark at the top.

Then a calico cat sauntered into view in the glass. It was like him, but the spots were different. He knew the spots of color on his own body. But he remembered -

“Akeno,” Kenma gasped. 

It was like a door was unlocked in his mind, allowing memories to tumble out. Memories from before. Memories from a time where he hadn’t known words, just images and sensation and hunger and play. Images of chasing butterflies with this cat, of running into a larger black one and then spending time together when -

Kenma couldn’t remember. He just remembered food in a bowl, and a large hand. He remembered lounging about in a garden, and playing in a forest, and running from children with rocks. He remembered -

“Did you forget about me, brother?” the cat asked, shifting into human form and standing next to Kenma’s reflection. “That’s so very, very cruel of you. Then again, you were always the selfish one.”

“Akeno,” Kenma repeated, stepping closer. He was having a hard time reconciling Akeno’s human form. His mind wanted to say it was his reflection, except his true reflection moved when he did. They looked so alike, though. Similar except that Akeno’s hair was pure blond, where Kenma’s was showing dark roots at the top. Other than that, they looked like what humans called twins. “How could I have forgotten you.”

The look on his brother’s face was taunting. “Perhaps because I wasn’t that important to you,” he snarled. “Maybe the human was more important. That man. He was even crueler than you, pushing me in here, locking me up just because I - well.”

Akeno looked away at that, and Kenma wondered. “The human - Nekomata?”

The look on Akeno’s face grew so full of malice that Kenma almost stepped back. “That old man. Hateful old man. Always pampering you. They always pamper you - because you’re the smallest, because they pity you for how weak you are. Nekomata, and Tetsurou - can’t they see how pathetic you really are?”

The venom made Kenma’s stomach turn, and dread started to well up in him. “What did you do?” he asked, stepping towards the mirror. “Nekomata - Shouyou? Akeno, what did you do?”

“I -” Akeno said, then paused, malice turning into a crafty smile as he stepped back from the edge of the glass. “Well, why don’t you come in here and find out? If you aren’t too weak.”

Mirror magic. He’d read about it briefly, before Nekomata forbid him to study it. He’d said it was too unstable. But Kenma remembered some of what he’d learned.

Like falling into a lake, the book had said.

A lake covered by solid ice.

He pressed his hands against the glass and fell in, feeling a shift similar to the ones he felt when stepping across the world. 

“Come on, brother,” Akeno said. He was at the end of the hall, past the stairs and turning into the kitchen. “Come follow me, if you aren’t too scared.”

Kenma was starting to think he might’ve forgotten the other cat just because he was so bothersome. But fear for the two humans kept him going. He turned the corner. Akeno was standing next to a door that shouldn’t exist. In the real world, there was a refrigerator there, he was pretty sure. But this wasn’t the real world.

“They’re just in here.” 

Kenma stared at him, wondering if he’d be attacked as he came closer. Akeno just stood there, however, holding the door and inviting him to look inside.

The room beyond the door was too big. Kenma supposed there was space enough for a bit of crawlspace beneath the stairs, but this went beyond that. It took up part of the space that held the living room. Seated in the middle floor - “Shouyou!”

Kenma rushed into the room and knelt beside him, blinking as Shouyou turned to him and wrapped arms tightly around him. 

“Kenma, Kenma,” Shouyou said. “I knew he wasn’t you. I knew he was lying.”

He felt so frail in Kenma’s arms, so very very young. Kenma patted him gently, checking him over for any injuries.

“See old man?” Akeno said behind him. “I told you I could lure him inside. Another of your all-important plans ground into dust, just like I always promised.”

The door slammed shut.

Kenma gasped, looking around as the door shifted into pure white wall. They were trapped. There had to be another way out -

Then he saw a shape in the corner of the room.

Nekomata’s robe, crumpled on the floor, with something inside. Yellowing, dry -

“I should never have even tried to help him,” said another voice.

Kenma knew that voice.

He lifted his eyes, holding Shoyou tighter as he saw the shape floating in the air.

“Master,” he gasped.

Nekomata’s ghost looked down at him, eyes sad in a face that made Kenma’s heart ache with memory.

“Hello, Kenma.”

~~~~~~~~~

“Now,” Akaashi said, “I don’t like this one bit, but if you must go with us -”

“Please,” Kuroo said, trying not to whine as he looked at the human.

Akaashi’s eyes narrowed at the interruption. “If you must, then I expect you to be on your best behavior. No funny business or we’ll pull you back in necklace, understand? And don’t mess up our clothing.”

The man seemed to be studiously ignoring the fact that Kuroo was naked. 

“I won’t,” Kuroo replied.

Huffing, Akaashi glanced back at Bokuto. “Can we even trust a youkai? Bakeneko are tricksters, right?”

“Sometimes,” Bokuto admitted, looking earnestly at Kuroo. “But I bet we can trust him if he promises, right?”

“I promise, I promise,” Kuroo said, shifting from foot to foot.

Akaashi sighed, finally stepping closer to Kuroo. He looked him up and down before handing him some clothes. “These should fit,” he finally said. “They may be a bit short - you can do something with you tail, right? Kozume looked fully human when I met him at the library.”

“Yes, yes,” Kuroo said, eager to be underway. From the scent, he thought the shirt was Bokuto’s and the pants were Akaashi’s, but it was hard to tell. The scents were oddly mixed. Not that it mattered.

He had one foot in the leg of the pants before he noticed a small scrap of clothing that he really didn’t want to wear. “What is this?” he asked, playing ignorant to see Akaashi’s reaction.

“Ah,” Akaashi said, glancing away, “Underwear.”

“What do you use it for?”

A bit of color dusted Akaashi’s cheeks, and he sighed. “You know what, don’t worry about it,” he said, walking over and picking up the necklace. “Just put things on the way you know how, and remember. The point is to not scare the Hinatas when we get to their house, understand?”

Their house.

Kuroo swallowed, any amusement from teasing the human going out the window at his words. He nodded and got dressed, trying to get used to being in a fully human skin.

Bokuto and Akaashi had promised to take him with them to rescue Kenma and the human boy. Shouyou. The kid who was so important that Kenma had rushed off after him, leaving Kuroo in the lurch. It made him feel just the slightest bit jealous.

Never mind that Kuroo was perfectly safe with these two humans.

The car ride to the house was a novelty. He sat in the back, squirming and looking around. He wondered what would happen if Akaashi got mad and threw the necklace out the window. Would the car stop? Would Kuroo be pulled outside? They hadn’t lifted the boundary around him, after all; they were just taking the necklace with him.

He was still tied to it, like a dog on a leash.

It irked him, but right now the only thing that mattered was Kenma.

They pulled up to the house and got out, Akaashi opening Kuroo’s door for him.

“Finally,” Hinata-san said, stepping out of her car. “I was beginning to think - who’s that? Is that -”

“Yes,” Akaashi said. “It’s the spirit we captured. Don’t worry, he’s perfectly safe right now; we just thought he could help us with what’s happened to your son.”

The little girl, who had been hiding behind her mother’s leg, slowly came forward. “Are you one of the good cats that Shouyou talked to?” she asked.

Kuroo swallowed, suddenly feeling very very tall. He crouched down to get closer to her eye level. “Yes,” he said softly. “I could show you, if you -”

“Not right now,” Akaashi said, at the same time that Hinata-san pulled the girl back against her. The look she gave Kuroo was not at all kind. 

“It was your friend who took -” she started.

“We don’t think so,” Bokuto broke in. 

“Hinata-san,” Akaashi murmured, “The situation may be a bit complicated. However, don’t worry. We’ll make sure that your son is safe. Trust us, alright?”

She gave a tight nod, and the other two humans started toward the house. Kuroo couldn’t help but glance back at Natsu as he followed. 

“Alright,” Bokuto said as they entered the house. “So, is Kozume - or is it Kenma? Uh, the other one. Is he here?”

Kuroo looked at him, raising an eyebrow, and said in a measured voice, “I don’t know yet. I would assume so, but we just walked in the door. Why don’t we look around?”

“You don’t, like, ah -”

Kuroo wanted to snap at him. He felt so angry, suddenly. What, did the guy expect he’d know everything? Even if he was bakeneko, that didn’t mean he shared the type of bond that would let him know where Kenma was at all times.

He wished he did. He’d had to go find him plenty of times before, and it would have come in handy. When Kenma was missing -

Anger turned to worry, and worry to sadness. It let him see the stress on Bokuto’s face. The human cared. Maybe not about Kenma - but he cared about the kid.

Kuroo sighed. The kid hadn’t done anything to deserve this, that was for sure. Well, neither kid.

“We’ll look,” Akaashi said, patting Bokuto on the back.

Stepping toward the living room door, Kuroo paused. The reflection of the front door in the mirror was strange. Had the sky outside been that cloudy? He glanced back at the door just to be sure, but no - the sky was blue. 

“What’s wrong?” Bokuto asked.

“Ah, probably nothing -”

“That’s Kozume, right?” Akaashi asked.

Turning back around Kuroo went cold. There was someone in the mirror. Someone who looked a lot like Kenma on the surface. But Kuroo knew better. “You aren’t Kenma.”

“It’s not?” Bokuto said, glancing at Akaashi.

Akaashi frowned, then shook his head. “Ah - perhaps not. The hair is different. Not quite so blond, I think.”

The man in the mirror laughed, raising his hand to his hair. “Like this?” he said, brushing dark roots in at the top of his head and then letting them fade back to gold. “He’s such a fake. Didn’t even know what his own reflection looked like until today.”

Kuroo growled, starting forward only to feel Akaashi’s hand on his arm. “Just what the hell are you?”

The man’s eyes flashed pain. “You forgot about me too, didn’t you, Tetsurou,” he said. “Just like Kenma. How is that supposed to make me feel, hmm? That I’m so forgettable? That you let a human block your memories of me?”

That gave Kuroo pause, and he shook his head. “I don’t know who or what you are,” he growled out, “but if you have Kenma or Shouyou, you’d better give them back.”

The blond man hissed and stepped back. “Why don’t you come get them then, Kuro.”

Kuroo growled, starting forward again. Only Kenma got to call him that. He was pulled up short when Akaashi’s hand curled in the neck of his shirt, holding him still.

“No,” Akaashi said. “That’s just what he wants.”

“But -”

“I’ll go get them,” Bokuto said, looking at them both. “But you two, well.”

“If he’s trapped in the mirror, that might shift the balance of power enough that he can break free,” Akaashi said. “At least temporarily.”

Bokuto nodded. “There must be something holding him inside. It may be something out here, may be something in there he can’t get to, but you two will need to be careful. Can you, ah...”

The man’s voice trailed off and he looked at Akaashi with tenderness. For the first time, Kuroo understood why their scents were mingled so closely. He looked away.

“We’ll be safe,” Akaashi said. “We can buy you time at least. Just - get the others out safely, alright?”

Bokuto gave him a wry grin. “Don’t worry. I’m the best there is, so we’ll be great!”

Kuroo sincerely hoped that it was true.


	10. Memory and History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of violence in this chapter.

Kenma sat back on his heels and listened as Nekomata talked to Shouyou. It was really him. He had no legs, of course. Nekomata was a ghost. But it was really him. Truly him. So much him that Kenma could barely even process a word he was saying, so it was good he was talking to Shouyou.

Finally, he managed words.

“I don't understand.”

Nekomata paused in the middle of his sentence and turned to look at Kenma, floating closer. “What do you mean, Kenma?” he asked, voice kind.

Kenma just wanted to hug him. That wasn’t possible now. He could, he suppose, de-corporealize - but it wouldn’t be the same. He wanted those hands to hold him, pet him, calm him down just like they had all his youth. He looked down. “I don’t understand all this,” he murmured, motioning to the room. “Akeno, this place, you, here... any of it.”

“Ah,” Nekomata said, settling on the floor near to where Shouyou and he were sitting. “Well, to start at the beginning, you were all my cats. You, and Tetsurou, and Akeno. I was walking in the rain one day when I noticed a dog growling at a bush. I chased the dog away, and lo and behold, there was Tetsurou, standing guard over two shivering kittens. He was older than you, you know. Not much. Just a few months. But you and Akeno were still so small. For a while, I didn’t think you would make it, actually. I’m glad you did.”

“Me too,” Shouyou said.

Kenma just nodded.

“I inherited the house here, and started to learn its secrets. Mai worked for me then, cleaning the house. She took care of you all when I had to travel for my work. Ah, she was always so kind. I hope she’s done well.”

Mai. That was the woman’s name, he remembered. He hadn’t ever talked to her himself, just spent mornings sitting in her lap. “She’s still alive,” Kenma murmured. “She doesn’t talk, but she’s still alive. They take good care of her, but I think - well. She may pass soon.”

“I see. She still feels so young to me. She - well. She loved you all, though Akeno was probably her favorite, I think. Sad, so sad.”

“What?” Shouyou asked.

“Ah, well. You see,” Nekomata said, “When cats get old, sometimes they will change into bakeneko. I knew it was always a possibility for you all. There’s so much magic in the house already it was almost inevitable. And Kuroo changed first. He was a sweet child. Mai hadn’t ever had children of her own, so she was delighted to take care of him. And then a few months later, well. I was sleeping upstairs. I’d just come back from a business trip, you see, and was so, so tired. Kuroo was sleeping in his room, and Mai was here late, taking care of the night garden duties. Then she heard the yowling begin. We’d been through it before with Kuroo. The transition from cat to yokai is not an easy one, we both knew that. Still, she remembered I knew spells to help ease the pain, so she called me. I came down as fast as I could, but well.

“Akeno went through most of the transition on his own. You were curled up next to him, watching him with such confusion. By the time I got down and started chanting the spells, he was almost completely changed over, and it was all too obvious even from the start that something was wrong. The first thing he did was turn to you and try to break your neck. You were so shocked you didn’t even move. Mai pulled him away. I tried to get ahold of him, but he’d lashed out at her as well. So I did the only thing I knew how to do. I locked him into the mirror.”

“Wow,” Shouyou said, looking up with wide eyes.

“We’re still only human, you know, Hinata,” Nekomata said, “Even when you grow into your powers, you’ll still only be human.”

Shouyou nodded seriously.

“Mai was wounded, and you were starting your own transition, Kenma. By that time Kuroo had woken up and was downstairs too. He held you while you changed. He was still so young, but even then he loved you so much. I set the basic protections around you and let him comfort you through it while I tried my best to tend to Mai. I was able to keep her alive. Her body was whole, and I could see her spirit still alive behind her eyes, but, well. I couldn’t fix everything.”

Kenma nodded, thankful - beyond thankful - that he’d never stopped visiting her. “I never knew,” he murmured. “Never knew she saved my life.”

“She didn’t hesitate one bit,” Nekomata murmured. “She loved you. Love all three of you. After that night, though, well. I made sure she was well taken care of. For a while, they even brought her out to the house to visit. She’d sit in the garden, eyes following you and Kuroo as you learned to crawl, and then walk. But at one point it was just too much.”

“I followed you sometimes,” Kenma murmured, “When you went to visit her. I never really understood why. But I go visit her often, a few times a week.”

Nekomata was silent long enough that Kenma looked up, surprised to learn that ghosts could cry. Or well, at least tear up. 

“I am so proud of you,” Nekomata said softly. “Proud of both you and Kuroo. I missed you all terribly, but Akeno would sometimes talk about you over the years. He did it to taunt me, but I appreciated it none the less.”

“Did you just, well. Leave him in the mirror?” Shouyou asked.

“I didn’t intend to, no,” Nekomata said. “I tried, many times over the years. Tried to bring him out into the house. But he was just broken inside. I was worried when he started showing up to you in the mirror, Kenma, but thankfully you never seemed to realize what was going on. But I could tell he was growing more powerful as you all got older. I knew that one day, he’d be able to break out into this world. I was worried what he would do if he escaped. So, I resolved to bind him to that necklace over there.”

Kenma glanced over, seeing the large red lacquer circle falling out of the pocket of the robe. It reminded him of the one that had been used to trap Kuroo, but it was more elaborate.

“I was only able to finish part of the binding before he overpowered me, though. Well, made me feel guilty, more like. You see, he was my son too, just like the two of you. He was my son, and I failed him. Failed all of you, in the end.”

“You didn’t -” Kenma started to say.

There was a loud crash behind them, and a man said, “I’m here!”

Turning, Kenma’s eyes opened wide. It was the human. Bokuto. And behind him - “No no wait!” Kenma yelled out.

It was too late. The door slammed shut behind him, and they were locked inside.

“What?” Bokuto asked.

Groaning, Kenma said, “The door.”

“Oh,” Bokuto replied, turning and tugging at the door handle in vain.

“Well, at least it hasn’t disappeared this time?” Shouyou said. “That’s new.”

“Sorry,” Bokuto said, slowly turning around and approaching the group. “Oh, ah, hello. I’m Bokuto Koutarou. Nice to meet you.”

“He’s helping us clear out the spirits of the house!” Shouyou said.

“Is he now?” Nekomata replied, looking Bokuto up and down. “Well, I’m sorry to say, young man, but this house has already chosen its next guardian.”

“Huh?” Bokuto said.

Kenma looked up. “What? Guardian?”

“Yeah! Didn’t you hear earlier, Kenma? It’s me!” said Shouyou.

Kenma looked from Shouyou to Nekomata, confused. “But I thought - we thought - we thought the house was ours,” he finally said. “Kuroo’s and mine. We thought you were going to give it to us, because we’re your -”

“Oh, Kenma,” Nekomata murmured, floating closer. “Kenma, I’m so, so sorry. I should’ve prepared you for this. Should’ve chosen a guardian, invited them to be my apprentice, so they’d know you. Know you and Kuroo. But you see, the house requires a human guardian. The two of you are my children, as dear to me as any I would’ve had on my own, but there are some things you just can’t do.”

Curling up on himself, Kenma said, “But - but we watch the gardens, just like you said. We take care of the plants, and make sure the koi are safe, and do all the things you did. We haven’t forgotten any of it, I promise. And you told us, didn’t you? You told us it would be dangerous for humans should live here, because it was too dangerous.”

“No normal humans,” Nekomata said. “No normal humans, but Hinata is different. And I know that you and Kuroo have worked hard while I’ve been gone. You were always so very careful. But think, my child. In all the time I’ve been gone, have any of the koi flown away?”

Miserable, Kenma shook his head.

“Have any new trees sprouted in the garden? Or old ones passed on? Have the Gekka bijin flowers bloomed?”

“No,” Kenma whispered.

“This house knew,” Nekomata said softly. “The house, and the land, and the spirits that make sure everything is in balance. That’s why the house found a new guardian, and made sure things aligned so that he and his family could be here. He’s a good child, Kenma. You know that, right?”

Swallowing Kenma nodded, glancing up at Shouyou. “But his mom - she -”

“What?” Nekomata asked.

“I don’t think Hinata-san would be comfortable letting the bake - ah, letting Kuroo and Kozume stay here,” Bokuto murmured. “There’ve been incidents, you see, and she’s not really all that comfortable with the supernatural to begin with.”

“Well,” Nekomata said, “Talk to her!”

The other two humans were silent. Kenma curled even tighter into himself, feeling sick. It wasn’t that the humans were taking their house from them - it was that their house wasn’t really theirs at all. They had no home.

Nekomata huffed. “You two! I don’t care what you do, but you have to make sure my kids have a home, you hear? I may not be able to control who this house belongs to, but all of my things - the furnishings, my bank books - all of that I can control. Here, you. Boy. Go fetch the things out of my robe - ah, it’s just a dead body, and it’s mine, so it's not going to bite you.”

Kenma blinked, watching as Shouyou tromped over to the robe and pulled out some papers along with the lacquer necklace.

“Look,” Nekomata continued. “You - Bokuto, right? You’re an adult in this situation, and you understand spirits. You also know how the adult world works. Here. I should’ve left my will out in the open where people could find it instead of carrying it around with me, but look at it. All my books in the library, all the things I collected over the years - they’re all to be passed on to my children. Understood? They have to be taken care of.”

Bokuto nodded, taking the will and another document from Shouyou’s hand. 

“I tamed them, you see,” Nekomata murmured, voice softer as he looked into Kenma’s eyes. “They could’ve gone wild like the serpents did, but they chose to stay with me. Really, I think we tamed each other. And to tame a thing means you take responsibility for it - you don’t control it, you don’t own it, but it’s still yours to provide for. 

“I failed them in that. Failed them by failing to master my own biggest weakness, in leaving myself open to Akeno when I should’ve bound him up for good. But I have faith that the three of you can succeed where I failed. You can make sure he’ll never be free, that he’ll be just another of the dark things this house keeps hidden from the world. But when it’s all over, and you’ve succeeded, you have to take responsibility. Understood?”

Shouyou nodded solemnly.

“Yes, sir,” Bokuto murmured, looking at the other piece of paper in his hand. 

Tilting his head toward it, Kenma recognized the language of a spell. That was it, then.

Behind them, the door clicked open.

They all turned toward the sound. 

“What does that mean?” Shouyou asked.

“Ah,” Nekomata said. “I think that means that Akeno has crossed all the way over to the other side.”

“Akaashi,” Bokuto mumbled.

“Where?” Kenma asked.

“He’s outside, with Kuroo,” Bokuto replied, looking down at him. There was knowledge in that gaze. Fear, hope, and pure confidence. “They should be able to push him back inside.”

Kenma nodded, looking from Shouyou to Bokuto and then up to Nekomata.

“Well, while we’re waiting on them to do that, we should go out and prepare the spell. We’ll succeed,” Kenma said. “I’m sorry for what happened with Akeno, even though I don’t really remember him. But he can’t be allowed to be set free, even if he is my brother.”

Shouyou nodded, turning the red lacquered necklace over and over in his hand. “Alright! Let’s go and - uh - be guardians!”

He looked so young when he said that. But as he looked up at Kenma, and the only thing in his eyes was pure determination.

Kenma gave him a small smile. “Yeah.”

~~~~~~~~

The wait after Bokuto pushed in through the glass was interminable. The expected invasion from the stranger on the other side of the mirror hadn’t happened. Instead, silence stretched out between them.

Kuroo shifted from foot to foot, not wanting to look away from the glass that now only showed a true reflection.

“You guys do this often?” he finally asked. “Go into houses, kidnap spirits, things like that?”

Akaashi stiffened. “You mean remove demons who are terrorizing children?”

“We didn’t!” Kuroo said, turning to him in shock.

“None of this was your doing?” Akaashi asked, giving him a knowing look.

Kuroo frowned, glancing to the side. “Well, a few things,” he said. “But what would you do, if people invaded your home?”

“I’m human. People wouldn’t just come into my home like that. If they did, I’d call the police.”

“Well, it’s not like we had that option! Besides, people do it to other people all the time. I do read, you know.”

Akaashi huffed, looking away.

Kuroo wanted to say more, but it wasn’t like arguing with a human would do any good. It ate at him like acid how they thought they had the right to whatever they wanted, though. 

If he was human, would he feel the same way?

Sighing, he glanced at the mirror, eyes widening. The blond that Kuroo would know anywhere had come running around the corner in the mirror, looking back over his shoulder like he was frightened. He was wearing his favorite green shirt and jeans - had Kenma been wearing those clothes? Kuroo couldn’t remember, but the look in those liquid-gold eyes when they looked at him drove all questions from his head. “Kenma,” Kuroo breathed out, watching the other press against the glass. 

“Where are the others, though?” Akaashi asked. “What if that’s just -”

He couldn’t be right. Kenma looked so scared. The glass bulged out as he pushed through, holding onto him, sliding back little by little till his face broke out.

“Kuro,” Kenma gasped, still leaning forward into the unforgiving glass. “Kuro, help.”

“What do I do? I don't know what to do!” Kuroo said, reaching a hand out. He was hesitant to touch, afraid that it might make the mirror rebound and trap Kenma inside forever. So he just watched, agonized, willing with all his might for his beloved to be free.

Finally, Kenma tumbled onto the floor, groaning in pain.

“Kenma?” Kuroo asked, moving to kneel next to him. He lifted a hand, not wanting to touch Kenma’s skin if he was in pain. He seemed so helpless, curled up and shaking. He seemed so -

Off.

The figure on the ground looked up, a smile crossing his face that was just a little too bright. “You can call me Kenma if you want, Kuro,” he murmured. “Or even just Ken-chan. Ken-chan would work, right?”

“No,” Kuroo gasped, recoiling and stepping back.

“But don’t you remember me, Tetsurou?” the man said, hair shifting back to pure blond as he stood up and advanced. “I’m Akeno. You were my best friend. We played for years, back when we were cats. Back before Nekomata’s magic forced us into these unnatural shapes. Even then, you should’ve been mine. But Kenma got in the way and now it’s my turn. You can just have me instead of -”

“No!” Kuroo growled, stepping forward. Somewhere in the back of his mind he did remember the other cat, but that was so long ago. “You? Replace Kenma? You’re nothing like him.”

“I could be though,” Akeno wheedled. “I’ll be kinder, and won’t be so mean to you. You locked all the mirrors in the attic away but I could still hear you. Hear how he rejected you so often, ignored you. I’ll let you touch me all you want, groom me, anything. Please, Kuroo. It’s been so long since someone groomed me -”

“You. Are not. My Kenma.” Kuroo said firmly. “I wouldn’t groom you if you were the last cat on Earth.”

Akeno’s golden eyes shifted, turning dark. “Fine then,” he growled out, beautiful face twisting with malice. “Then I’ll just have to change you until you will.”

Something about the way he moved triggered a warning inside Kuroo’s head, but it was too late. Akeno was letting go of his corporeal form, dark spirit sliding toward Kuroo and in through his open mouth. It was overwhelming, and powerful. Kuroo tried to bat the spirit away, shift and escape, but the only shift he could make was from hand to paw. Akeno’s spirit pushed into him, cold and angry and oh so wrong, slithering and dark as it pressed into cracks inside that should never be forced open. It was agony, and he couldn’t even scream because his throat was blocked by darkness.

Suddenly Kuroo felt something drop over his neck. Cool hands squeezed his shoulders, sending waves of calm through his body.

The darkness was pushed out by the calm, and Kenma could breathe again. He watched as Akeno fell back onto the floor, looking up with pure anger. “Stupid human,” he spat out. “Stupid humans with your stupid charms - though what are you going to do now, huh? Since you left yourself defenseless. Can’t even see me if I don't want you to. And your mind is so attuned and open, you’ll be so easy to possess once I get my strength back...”

Kuroo looked back in surprise, hand coming up to hold the pendant Akaashi had placed around his neck. 

Akaashi swallowed, grey-green eyes looking up at him. “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that, Kuroo-san?” he murmured, traces of fear in his eyes belying his calm voice. “What kind of yokai are you, letting yourself almost get taken over like that, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kuroo said, turning back around to face their opponent. Akeno was standing up, eyes gone pure black. His body was shifting, growing more feline, like a leopard with pure golden fur. “Well, sorry about the clothes, okay? And that chant you did - that chant works really well.”

“What?” Akaashi said. “Ah. Yes.”

Akeno pounced.

Kuroo jumped up to meet him, shifting in mid-air and meeting him with a crash. They rolled around on the floor, banging into the walls. Kuroo felt claws rip down his front leg and whined, twisting and shoving his back legs into Akeno’s body to throw him off. The golden cat crashed into the living room door and Kuroo got to his feet, prowling closer. “Get back in your mirror,” he growled.

Behind him, he could hear Akaashi chanting. The words were like a buzzing cage around them. This time, however, Kuroo just let the feeling wash over him. It wasn’t directed at him, after all.

But its target was certainly feeling the effects. 

Akeno snarled, trying to get past Kuroo to attack Akaashi. Kuroo just snapped at him, slowly backing the golden cat up towards the mirror’s surface. Akeno’s growls turned into whines, eyes shifting gold, form morphing into that of a housecat. Golden fur shifted into white with black and gold spots, but the pattern was off. Kuroo knew every spot of color on Kenma’s fur. No copycat could ever pull that off.

He lunged forward, landing close enough to Akeno that the other jumped back, hitting the glass of the mirror. That was all it took.

The glass was greedy as it sucked him back in, dropping him down on the reflected floor. 

Kuroo panted, collapsing and letting himself shift back into semi-human form. There was blood dripping down his arm but he didn’t mind that. Instead he just reached up, catching the charm that fell from his neck, leather cord broken.

Looking down at it, he murmured, “Sorry again about the clothes.”


	11. Home

Kenma turned the corner from the kitchen just as Kuroo backed Akeno through the mirror. He barely caught a glimpse of Akaashi was bending toward Kuroo when the mirror went black. 

It looked like Kuroo had been bleeding.

Akeno groaned, panting on the floor a moment before he turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Kenma. They stared at each other a moment, frozen in place. Kenma tried to think, tried to recall anything about this cat that was supposed to be his brother, but other than a few fleeting images his mind was blank. Everything was blank.

Rolling over, Akeno shifted, pushing up from the floor with eyes full of hate. “You,” Akeno said, standing and facing Kenma. “Why couldn’t you have just died when you were a stupid cat.”

Blinking, Kenma watched as he came closer. Bokuto and Hinata were around the corner in the kitchen. They’d moved the table and were drawing signs and symbols on the floor, something from the spell Nekomata had brought into the mirror. 

He should feel something. 

“If you’d’ve just died back then, no one else would’ve gotten hurt! I wouldn’t’ve had to do that to my Mai. Nekomata would still be alive. They would love me. Kuroo would love me. Your life should be my life!” Akeno said, hands lifting towards Kenma’s throat.

Kenma’s hands shot up, grabbing Akeno’s wrists.

He should feel something. Anger, fear maybe. Perhaps pity. It was obvious that Akeno was broken. From what Nekomata had said, it wasn’t entirely his fault. Kenma’s head should’ve been a whirlwind of emotions, but instead he just felt...

Nothing.

“You killed Nekomata,” Kenma finally said. Akeno’s spirit was shifting, spiky in his grasp. Objectively Kenma knew that Akeno should have been able to shift his arms longer, still reach for his neck even if Kenma held him. Of course, if he did that, Kenma could go spiritform himself. Possible moves and countermoves played out in his mind. It was like a game, except nothing about this was like play.

“You made me,” Akeno spit out, pulling to try to break Kenma’s hold. “It’s all your fault. He was going to lock me up because he liked you better. He hated me because I wasn’t you.”

Kenma shook his head. “No,” he murmured. “He just wanted you to be well. But you’re broken.”

Akeno’s face twisted with rage, and he growled. The sound morphed into a small yelp. Golden eyes that had been fixed on Kenma’s face shifted toward the kitchen. “What?” Akeno said, fear crossing his face.

Pity was an emotion that Kenma almost felt, then. He could hear the chanting behind him, and stepped back, pulling Akeno with him. The fright on the other cat’s face only grew, changing into desperate anger. Akeno thrashed about in his grasp, trying to break free, to flee. 

“You can’t!” he shouted, “I’m supposed to be free!”

Kenma ignored him, glancing back to see the limits of the circle that Bokuto had inscribed. He pulled Akeno into it. The other cat really did shift then, growing smaller and then larger, trying to break Kenma’s grasp, trying to get free. When that didn’t work he lashed out.

None of it mattered. Kenma’s spirit slid around Akeno, shielding the humans from his anger. He’d played these games before. Granted, Kuroo had never tried to actually hurt him, but the intent didn’t matter. Kenma knew how to block, and hold, and shift, morphing to keep Akeno’s spirit contained while the humans completed the spell. 

He felt the walls of containment rise up around them, collapsing in and pulling them toward the necklace in the center. For him, they were soft, like water that he could push past with no effort. Akeno was shrinking, though, fear radiating out from his center.

“Come with me, brother,” Akeno whispered. “Don’t leave me here alone!”

Nothing. He felt nothing. No anger, no pity, no satisfaction, nothing. He just whispered, “No,” and let Akeno’s spirit slip away from him, watching as it was sucked down smaller and smaller until he could see it no more.

Kenma fell to the floor, watching the necklace that lay just a few inches away. It jumped once, then was still.

It was done.

“Kenma!” Shouyou shouted, “are you ok?”

Blinking, Kenma turned his head to look at the boy. He was standing outside the circle hopping from foot to foot, a worried look on his face. That look morphed into one of embarrassment, and the boy looked away. 

“I’m fine,” Kenma said. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, you’re naked,” Bokuto said. He was pulling off his shirt.

Maybe some strange human custom? He didn’t want Kenma to be alone in his nakedness?

Because he was, in fact, naked; his clothes a casualty of the battle with Akeno. “Huh,” Kenma said.

Bokuto held out his shirt and blurted, “Here!”

Kenma tried to process this. “It’s big,” he mumbled, pushing up from the floor. He took the shirt anyway. It was soft, even if it did fall down to his knees. “Thank you though.”

“No problem,” Bokuto said, eyes widening a bit as he snuck a glance at Kenma.

“Are you unnaked?” asked Shouyou.

“I am unnaked,” Kenma said solemnly, wrapping his arms around himself. He felt exhausted. Exhausted and empty.

“So what do we do with the necklace?” Shouyou asked.

“You should put it in here with me,” Nekomata said from the doorway of the hidden room. “This room doesn’t exist in the real house, so no mirrors can be placed to form an accidental doorway into it. I won’t be able to do touch it, of course, but perhaps I can talk to him. Maybe someday...”

“Someday he could be fixed? He could turn into a good cat?” asked Shouyou.

“Perhaps,” Nekomata answered.

He should want that. If he was a good brother, he would want that. Instead, Kenma just hugged himself tighter, trying to keep from shaking.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Bokuto was looking at him, worried and gentle. “Are you ok?” he murmured.

Kenma nodded, heart hurting. “I”ll be fine,” he mumbled, looking away.

Shouyou stepped forward and picked up the necklace, taking it over to Nekomata. They were talking. It was probably important. This could be the last time he saw Nekomata. Nekomata was dead. If they didn’t get to stay in the house, if he never got to come into the mirror again, if Kuroo could never come say goodbye -

“Shh, shh,” Bokuto whispered, rubbing small circles on his back. “It’ll be ok, kitten.”

He should be annoyed. He should lash out, or at least move away. He didn’t like people touching him when he was in this form. Well, people other than Kuroo - even Kuguri didn’t touch him much. The touch of this human shouldn’t be so, well.

Comforting.

But it was.

He took a shaking breath, letting the comfort wash over him, warm and soothing. This human was different. Kenma should be angry at him for having trapped Kuroo like they’d just trapped Akeno, but it was hard to be angry when he knew Bokuto was a good man. 

Glancing back up at Bokuto, Kenma murmured a word of thanks before walking over to Shouyou and Nekomata.

“I miss you,” he said, looking up at the ghost.

“I miss you too,” Nekomata said, “you and Kuroo both.”

“Nekomata said I should be able to enter the mirror on my own, isn’t that great?” Shouyou asked. “He said he’d stick around and help teach me how to be a proper guardian!”

“For a few years, at least,” Nekomata murmured. “I also told him about a friend of mine he might contact. The geezer was at least as old as I was, but I heard his grandson might be following in his footsteps.”

“Wouldn’t that be awesome?” Shouyou asked. “I can learn to do magic! Real magic! Like woosh, and bam! Hey, do you think I could learn to fly?”

Kenma ducked his head to hide a smile. “Maybe.”

“First, though,” Nekomata said, “You should probably get out to the others. I’m betting they’re worried about you.”

“Yeah,” Kenma said, looking up again. “Thank you, for well, everything.”

“Of course,” Nekomata said. “And I want you to know, Kenma - I’m proud of you. You and Kuroo both. I couldn’t ask for two more wonderful children than the two of you.”

“Thank you,” said Kenma, not knowing what else to say.

The moment stretched between them. Kenma didn’t want it to end. He didn’t want to say goodbye. Memories rushed in, so many of the good times they’d had, the ways Nekomata had taught them, cared for them, loved them. He blinked, lifting a hand to rub at his eyes. 

“I’ll miss you,” he finally said.

“Yes,” Nekomata said, “I”ll miss you too.

~~~~~~~~

Kuroo frowned as he pulled the yukata from the back of the living room closet. He’d worn it for a festival the year before. It had been hidden back behind the clothes of the human family, but luckily the woman hadn’t thrown it out.

Frowning, Kuroo thought back to that fall evening. It was the first time he’d stood in a crowd and watched fireworks. Kenma hadn’t liked the loud noises, but he loved the colors, and had spent most of the evening pressed close to Kuroo’s side.

“Kuroo-san!” Akaashi called, voice soft but insistent. 

Straightening up Kuroo hit his head. “Ow,” he muttered, swiftly pulling the yukata around himself and shuffling out into the hall. After the earlier fight, Akaashi had insisted that he find some way to clothe himself. Kuroo still didn’t really get the human obsession with clothes, but - “Ah! The mirror has cleared up!”

The surface of the mirror had gone completely black after they’d managed to get Akeno back into it. At first they hadn’t noticed because Akaashi was fussing over the wound on his arm, and then taking the charm from him and fussing about the fact that Kuroo was now naked.

It had made Kuroo laugh a bit before he looked over and saw the glass was black. After that, they’d waited. Kuroo had pushed himself up and paced back and forth over the floor until Akaashi had insisted he find something to wear because evidently Kuroo’s naked body wasn’t seemly for some reason. 

But now the mirror was clear.

Bokuto was the first one he saw, then the boy. The boy looked safe, fine, better than fine - he was grinning from ear to ear for some reason.

And then, Kenma.

Kuroo leaned toward the glass. 

Akaashi caught him before he touched it. “Careful, Kuroo-san. We don’t know how the glass will react to you.”

“But - Kenma...” Kuroo murmured, eyes locked on the smaller form of the other cat. He looked especially small. That might’ve just been the shirt he was wearing, though. Bokuto’s shirt. Kuroo frowned at that, narrowing his eyes at Bokuto as the man pushed through the glass.

The boy was the next one through, laughing. “Wow!” he said. “That was so cool - can I really just walk through - hmm?”

Kenma paused on the other side of the glass, waiting as Shouyou turned around and reached back toward the surface. Kuroo wanted to growl at him, but Bokuto laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder instead.

“Shouyou, let’s let Kenma come out, ok?”

“Oh yeah! Right!” the kid said, stepping back so that Kenma could walk through.

Kuroo’s arms were around him in an instant. He hugged him tightly, ignoring all the humans as he nuzzled his hair. “Are you ok?” he asked, hands running over the fabric of the shirt. Kenma felt weak, slightly fuzzy. Kuroo tried to push strength into him. “I was so worried, Kenma - don’t ever just run off like that on me, ok?”

Huffing a soft laugh, Kenma said, “I’m fine, Kuro.”

He didn’t sound fine. Kuroo pulled back, running his hands down Kenma’s chest to make sure there weren’t any hidden injuries. He could hear Akaashi making noises but didn’t connect that they were directed at him until the human spoke.

“There is a child here, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi said.

“Eh?” Kuroo said, hand halfway inside the top of Kenma’s shirt when he looked around. Shouyou and Bokuto were both turned away from them. Bokuto’s ears were red. Kuroo felt confused. He looked down at Kenma, but the other cat just had a bemused and weary look on his face. 

“I am fine, Kuro,” he murmured, hand reaching up to pat Kuroo on the cheek. Then his expression turned sad. “But we have a lot to talk about.”

The front door banged open. “Shouyou!”

Kuroo looked over to see the kid run to hug his mom. The little girl was standing behind the woman, watching them with wide eyes. All of a sudden Kuroo was reminded of all the problems that had brought them to this point.

“Mom! Mom! It was so exciting, we did this thing and it was like woosh! Zoom! Just -”

“Why is the spirit who kidnapped my son just standing there?” the woman asked, face reminding Kuroo of woodcuts he’d seen of bears. It immediately made him step in front of Kenma, wanting to shield him from her wrath.

“It’s not him!” Bokuto said, raising his hands and waving them. “He’s one of the ones who helped rescue Shouyou.”

“Yeah, he’s good, mom! He’s one of Nekomata’s kids, both him and Kuroo are!”

Nekomata?

Kids?

All of a sudden Kuroo found that Kenma was the one holding him up. “Nekomata?” he whispered.

Kenma sighed. “It’s a long story,” he murmured, rubbing Kuroo’s back a bit.

Kuroo just nodded, feeling numb.

Somehow they all ended up in the living room, though there weren’t enough chairs. Shouyou and Natsu sat with their legs stretched out under the coffee table, looking up at Kenma and Kuroo as they sat on the couch. Akaashi was sitting on the other side of Kuroo, and Bokuto and the woman were standing.

She still didn’t look happy.

Bokuto was standing as well, talking talking talking. Kuroo was still trying to process the words. The knowledge that Nekomata was dead - well. He thought he’d accepted that fact long ago, but the truth of it just led him back to his nightmares.

What if he’d known?

What if he could’ve saved him?

Could he have gone into the mirror after him? Was he really awake that night, had Nekomata needed him? 

All the questions soured in his gut. Normally he would’ve cuddled with Kenma to feel better, but there were too many people around. Too many humans. Kenma wasn’t letting him get that close anyways. He seemed withdrawn. He’d pulled a blanket into his lap as soon as they sat down - a wise choice if he didn’t want to shock the kids, because the shirt was long but not that long - and was sitting cross-legged on the couch staring at his hands. Those hands clenched together when Bokuto mentioned Akeno. He didn’t go into details, not really. Akeno, Bokuto said, was an evil doppleganger. He was just a spirit that had infected the house, and Kenma and Kuroo were good spirits who had been raised in the house by the previous owner. 

Kuroo could tell she wasn’t really buying it.

She took some papers from Bokuto and looked them over, shaking her head. “This is our house,” she said, hands clutching the paper like she wanted to tear it. “It was promised, I signed -”

“You’re right,” Kenma said, voice soft in the room. “This is our home, but it’s not our house. It belongs to Shouyou.”

“Mom,” Shouyou said, turning to look up at her, “they’re good cats. Can’t they stay? They won’t cause any more problems!”

“So you were causing problems,” she said.

Kuroo exchanged glances with Kenma. “Well, uh, I was the one who did the salt and sugar thing,” he mumbled. “And the clothes - but I didn’t hurt them.”

“No, you just scared me, and my children - “

“We were trying to get you out of our house!”

“It’s not your house!”

Kuroo huffed at that, glancing down, the pain of that crashing back into him again. Kenma’s hand slid over, taking his own and squeezing it. When Kuroo glanced up at the woman he saw her eyes stare at their enfolded hands, narrowing further in a way he couldn’t interpret.

“But mom -” Shouyou started.

“No. I’m sorry, Shouyou, but I don’t think it’s right. It’s not healthy. I want the two of you to have a normal childhood, not be surrounded by all this strangeness.”

“But I’m going to, ah,” the kid said, glancing up at Bokuto, who shook his head. Sighing, the kid looked back down at the table in front of him.

“The books in the library and some of the other things that used to be in the house do belong to them, though,” Bokuto said, holding out his hand for the paper in her grasp. 

“I don’t care about them. I was going to give them away anyhow,” she said.

Kuroo heard Akaashi sigh next to him. Glancing over, he saw the man had shifted, and was giving Bokuto a mildly suspicious look.

Brow furrowing in confusion, Kuroo looked over at Bokuto, whose eyes were big and pleading.

Kuroo didn’t understand any of it.

He dropped his head, and said, “Will you at least give us some time to figure out where we’re going to go?”

“A week,” she said. “I want you and your things out of here in a week. Anything left after that is fair game.”

Kuroo winced. A week. Maybe they could move out with the snakes, though the thought of what would happen to all the books and other precious things -

Kenma squeezed his hand tightly. Turning his head he saw that Kenma wasn’t looking up at him, but instead was leaning forward, eyes focused on Akaashi’s face. Kenma then turned his head to look at Bokuto, and back again. 

“Kenma?” Kuroo whispered.

Kenma looked up at the woman and nodded. “A week,” he said.

“Kenma, how -”

“It’s all going to be ok, Kuro,” Kenma murmured, looking up at him. “It’s all going to be ok. I have you, I have my home.”

It was true.


	12. Epilogue

In the end, the solution was simple.

“This is the balcony,” Akaashi said. “If you go out from here, please make sure to close the door.”

Nodding, Kenma walked over to a small planter of herbs attached to the railing. “You need more plants,” he said. “Maybe some pots.”

“What?”

“Oikawa will want something to wake up when he comes to visit. These little ones are a start, but I doubt that’ll be enough. Plus he likes to sleep near plants. If we get some potted plants those should be big enough. These really are too small.”

Nodding to himself, Kenma looked out from the balcony, gauging the distances to the surfaces below. Living in a city would be different, but they’d manage. Besides, Bokuto had promised to take Kuroo to see the ocean.

“He’ll probably want to take us to the park a few blocks away when they visit,” Kenma continued, turning to walk past Akaashi. “He likes showing off. It is pretty spectacular though.”

“They?” 

“Oikawa and Iwaizumi,” Kenma said, nodding.

“Ah -”

“Hey!” Kuroo said, coming out from one of the bedrooms with a ball in his hands. “Bokuto was telling me about this awesome game, Kenma!”

“Game?” Kenma said, ears perking up. 

“Yeah! You take this ball, and you hit it over the net -”

“I used to play it in high school!” Bokuto said. “Akaashi did too, though we never played against each other or anything. It’s awesome! We should all play!”

It didn’t sound very interesting.

Kenma frowned, distracted by the presence of a large television in the corner of the living room. There were some colorful bags beside it, with his name written on them. “What -”

“Bokuto and I wanted to get you a housewarming present,” Akaashi murmured. “Shouyou told us a few things you liked. We want to do the same for Kuroo-san, but we may need your help figuring out something appropriate.”

“I think he’ll be fine,” Kenma replied, looking over at Kuroo. The other cat was still holding the ball, but had moved to stand in front of one of the large bookcases that covered the walls of the apartment. He raised a hand, staring in wonder at the volumes in front of him.

“Kenma, did you see this? They’ve got the full set of - and this, I’ve been wanting to read the latest one for years - and -”

Ducking his head, Kenma hid a smile. “Yes. He’ll be fine.”

“I hope so, Kozume-san,” Akaashi said, walking away toward the bedrooms. “I hope you’ll be happy here.”

Happy?

Kenma tested himself for happy.

The loss of the house was like a wound. He’d miss Kuguri, and Daishou, and the other snakes. He’d especially miss being able to spend time with Mai. The last few days he’d made sure to visit her, at one point dressing up and shifting fully human so that he could sit and talk to her properly, thanking her for saving his life. It was possible, slightly possible, that he’d even seen her nod in response.

He would miss her.

He’d miss the gardens, and the fresh air. The stars were hidden here in the city - Kuguri had warned him about that, though how Kuguri knew he had no clue. Kuguri knew a lot of strange things. Snakes.

Yes, he’d miss all of that - but that was then, and this was now.

Bokuto had pulled Kuroo’s attention away from the books and was gesturing animatedly with the ball. Akaashi was moving toward the room he’d said was Kuroo and Kenma’s bedroom. The whole apartment smelled like cinnamon and other good things, with only the tiniest hint of smoke that seeped from Akaashi’s skin. It wasn’t unpleasant. 

It reminded Kenma of the village in winter, or cooking fires. All human things, but not so bad.

Happy.

Akaashi paused in the doorway to Kenma and Kuroo’s new bedroom, turning to look back at him. He was gentle, sometimes. And, as Kenma had found out, he was rather good at petting.

Kuroo’s laughter rang out in the room, soon paired with Bokuto’s. Akaashi’s eyes narrowed as he glanced over at them, fond exasperation written all over his face. 

Happy. 

Yes, Kenma thought he could be happy here.

He let a small smile flit across his face as he turned to join Akaashi. It was all new and different, but that would be alright. They’d brought pieces of their old life with them, packed them up in boxes and carted them into the city.

This place would be good.

It was already Bokuto and Akaashi’s home, and now, Kuroo and Kenma would make it theirs.

Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the journey. Thanks for reading this far :) I'm seriously tempted to write more in this AU, but this is the story for now. Please let me know if you have any questions, and as always i'm a sucker for comments, they're very motivating. And come over and bug me on Tumblr, I love questions and comments (and reblogging pictures of pretty haikyuu people). 
> 
> Take care :)

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come follow me on tumblr at <http://kaiyouchan.tumblr.com>
> 
> Also, if you didn't catch it, [False Reflection](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7791688/chapters/17775595) is the mirror fic to this - it tells the story through a completely different lens (including other events that help flesh out more of what's happening). Check it out!


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